According to the latest report from NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau), 1,73,860 people died in 4,22,659 traffic accidents in India last year, which comprises 4,03,116 road accidents, 17,993 railway accidents, and 1,550 railway crossing accidents. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of casualties (24,711) in such mishaps in 2021, followed by Tamil Nadu (16,685) and Maharashtra (16,446). However, it has been reported that Tamil Nadu experienced the highest increase in traffic accidents from 2020 to 2021 (from 46,443 to 57,090 cases), followed by Madhya Pradesh (from 43,360 to 49,493), Uttar Pradesh (from 30,593 to 36,509), Maharashtra (from 24,908 to 30,086), and Kerala (from 27,998 to 33,051).
As for road accidents, the number increased by approximately 10% between 2020 and 2021, causing 1,55,622 deaths (a 16.8% increase over 2020) and injuries to 3,71,884 individuals. The rate of deaths per thousand vehicles in 2021 raised from 0.45 in 2020 to 0.53 in 2021. Two-wheelers account for the maximum number of deaths in road accidents in 2021 (69,240 lives), contributing 44.5% of total road accidental deaths, followed by cars (23,531 deaths, 15.1%), and trucks/lorries (14,622 deaths, 9.4%).
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One thing that will surprise you is that road accidents caused more deaths than injuries in Mizoram, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. That said, Mizoram experienced 64 road accidents that resulted in 64 deaths and 28 injuries; in Punjab 6,097 road accidents caused 4,516 deaths and 3,034 injuries; Jharkhand reported 4,728 road accidents resulting in 3,513 deaths and 3,513 injuries; 33,711 road accidents in Uttar Pradesh resulted in 21,792 deaths and 19,813 injuries.
The reports also reveal that most of the road accidents (81,410 out of 4,03,116 cases) were reported between 6 PM to 9 PM, accounting for 20.2% of total road accidents.
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As per the roadway category, the share of road accidents on the national highways is highest (30.3%), followed by state highways (23.9%) and other roads (45.8%). The highest number of fatalities in road accidents on the national highways happened in Uttar Pradesh (7,212 deaths) and the maximum number of accidents on state highways were documented in Tamil Nadu (18,560 cases). The highest fatalities on the Expressways were also reported in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, and West Bengal in 2021.
