According to data on the newly-launched Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD), 14.1 lakh road accident cases were reported from 2021 to December 9, 2024. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala are among the top five States with the highest number of road accidents, recording 1.9 lakh, 1.4 lakh, and 1.3 lakh cases, respectively, over the past four years.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) minister, Nitin Gadkari, revealed in a Lok Sabha session that since the implementation of IRAD, 1,393 days have passed, during which period 102 road accidents were recorded on an average every day, taking the tally to 14.1 lakh road accidents.

The IRAD, developed by the MoRTH in 2021, is a Central digital system designed to collect, manage and analyse road accident data across all States. Its aim is to better understand the causes, locations and consequences of the rising number of road accidents in the country. The system is managed by the National Informatics Centre.

8.6 lakh minors

The data indicates that of the approximately 17.7 lakh people that were involved in these accidents, 23 per cent have died and 25 per cent have suffered grievous injuries. Notably, around 8.6 lakh individuals involved were minors.

The Road Safety in India 2023 Status Report highlights that the number of deaths due to road accidents in the southern States is higher than the national average in the period between 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Professor in the Department of Engineering Design at IIT Madras, said, “There is a pressing need to understand why southern States have recorded a high number of road accidents. Factors such as the widespread use of two-wheelers and others like insurance penetration may have contributed to this trend.”

Cases recorded

The data shows that Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh are the top three States with the highest number of registered road accidents, with 1.9 lakh, 1.8 lakh, and 1.5 lakh cases, respectively. Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala are the top three States with the highest number of recorded accidents per day, with 141 cases, 131 cases, and 122 cases, respectively.

The George Institute for Global Health, in partnership with MoRTH, released a report in September titled ‘Consensus Statement for Road Safety in India’. The report states that technology can play a crucial role in advancing road safety management strategies in India. It also underlines the need to enhance systems like IRAD to fully utilise the data for improving road safety. “Poor utilisation of big data and digital data collection methods for systems like IRAD/e-DAR hampers comprehensive traffic management and violation tracking,” the report reads.

EY’s report ‘Road Safety in India Navigating Through Nuances’ from July 2023 stated, “Most crashes (about 90 per cent) indicate the involvement of human factors. This observation was part of an FIR traditionally based on the accounts of victims and witnesses. Currently, IRAD allows capture of all causes identified by road engineers, motor vehicle inspectors and police as well. Still about 90 per cent data indicates traffic violations as the cause.”