Road accident deaths rise to 1.77 lakh in 2024: Gadkari

The number of road accident fatalities in India rose 2.3% to over 1.77 lakh in 2024, resulting in the death of 485 persons every day, Parliament was informed.

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Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in a written reply to Lok Sabha, said that the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety, adopted at the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in February 2020, sets a new global target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.

“As per the information received from States/UTs, total number of road accident fatalities reported in the country on all categories of roads during the calendar year 2024 were 1,77,177, which includes data in respect of West Bengal taken from eDAR portal,” Mr. Gadkari said.

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A total number of 4,80,583 road accidents have been reported by Police Departments of States and Union Territories (UTs) in the country during the calendar year 2023, claiming 1,72,890 lives and causing injuries to 4,62,825 persons.

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The Minister said as per the World Road Statistics 2024, the fatality rate per lakh population is 4.3 in China, and 12.76 in the United States of America, as compared to India, where it is 11.89.

Mr. Gadkari said the government has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on 4E’s i.e. Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.

Accordingly, various initiatives have been taken for road safety in the country.