‘Road Accidents in India- 2020’ Report

May 30, 2022

In a report titled ‘Road accidents in India- 2020′, it has been highlighted that there has been a sharp decline in road accidents in 2020 as compared to 2019. The report has been released by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH). According to the report, compared to the previous year’s average, total road accidents decreased by 18.46 percent. The number of deaths due to road accidents also decreased by 12.84 percent and the number of injuries also decreased by 22.84 percent.

How many road accidents have been reported by the States and Union Territories in 2020?

According to this report, the Union Territories and the States reported a total of 3,66,138 road accidents in the year 2020. The reported accidents have caused 1,31,714 deaths and 3,48,279 injuries. The report highlighted that in 2020, the total number of persons killed in road accidents has decreased from 2019 by 12.6 percent.

Which are the states wise statistics highlighted in the report?

The top 10 states recording the highest number of road accidents are:

Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
Karnataka
Madhya Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Telangana
Kerala
Maharashtra
Rajasthan
Bihar

In 2020, the highest number of road accidents on the National Highways was in Tamil Nadu. The number of people killed in road accidents was highest in:

Uttar Pradesh
Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh
Karnataka
Rajasthan

These 5 states accounted for around 46 percent of all fatal accidents recorded in 2020. The states that reported fewer fatalities and road accidents in 2020 as compared to 2019 were:

Kerala
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh

According to the report, across the national highways in the country, there are 5,803 black spots. The maximum number of black spots are located in:

Tamil Nadu (748)
West Bengal (701)

A black spot means a stretch of 500m on National Highways where either ten fatalities or five road accidents have taken place in the last three calendar years.

What does the report say about the severity of road accidents?

According to the report, the highest accident severity has been reported in:

Mizoram (79)
Bihar (78)
Punjab (75)

Also, around 60 percent of the Indian states have reported accident severity that is higher than the national average (36). The severity of road accidents is calculated by the number of deaths caused per 100 accidents. The national average of the country increased to 36 in 2020 from 33.7 in 2019, the highest in the last two decades. In 2000, it was 20.2.

Which parameters declined in 2020 as compared to 2019?

As compared to 2019, many road accident parameters declined in 2020.

The total road accidents in 2020 decreased by 18.46 percent.
The number of deaths due to road accidents reduced by 12.84 percent.
In 2020, the number of injured also declined by 22.84 percent.
In 2020, the fatal accidents also dipped by 12.23 percent to 1,20,806 in 2020 from 1,37,689 in 2019.

This dip was mainly due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown that was imposed in 2020 across the country. Even though in 2020 the total number of fatal accidents declined as compared to 2019, the overall percentage increased in 2020 which stood at 33 percent of all road accidents as compared to 30.7 percent in 2019.

What other facts did the report highlight?

According to the report, in 2020, out of the total road accidents, 32 percent were on National Highways, 43 percent on other roads, and 25 percent on State Highways. In 2020, overspeeding accounted for 69 percent of total road accident-related deaths and this is followed by driving on the wrong side which was 5.6 percent. In 2020, among the vehicle categories that were involved in road accidents, two-wheelers accounted for the highest percentage of total fatalities and accidents. The second place was taken by light vehicles comprising jeeps, cars, and taxis. In 2020, the fatal road accident victims mostly comprised young people who were in their productive age groups. The nation’s young adults in the18-45 age group accounted for 70 percent of the total victims in 2020. People in the 18-60 working-age group have accounted for 86 percent of all total fatalities related to road accidents.

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