MoRTH releases accident report in 2022; Road mishaps killed 19 people every hour in India

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By: Pune Pulse
November 1, 2023
Pune: A new report released by the government on Tuesday revealed that in 2022, a total of 4,61,312 road accidents occurred in India. These accidents resulted in the loss of 1,68,491 lives, while 4,43,366 individuals were injured.
The report, titled ‘Road accidents in India -2022’, highlighted a concerning 11.9% increase in accidents compared to the previous year. Additionally, there was a 9.4% rise in fatalities and a significant 15.3% surge in the number of people injured.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) report further specified that out of the total accidents, 32.9% occurred on National Highways including Expressways, 23.1% on State Highways, and the remaining 43.9% on other roads.
According to the report, a total of 168,491 fatalities were reported in 2022. Out of these, 61,038 (36.2%) occurred on National Highways, 41,012 (24.3%) occurred on State Highways, and 66,441 (39.4%) occurred on other roads.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) stated that the majority of the victims were young adults in the age group of 18-45 years, accounting for 66.5% of the total. Additionally, people in the working age group of 18-60 years constituted 83.4% of the total road accident fatalities.
It is noteworthy that rural areas accounted for approximately 68% of road accident deaths, while urban areas accounted for 32% of total accident deaths in the country, according to the MoRTH report. Two-wheelers were responsible for the highest share of total accidents and fatalities in 2022, followed by light vehicles such as cars, jeeps, and taxis. Two-wheeler riders accounted for the highest share of total fatalities, with pedestrian road users coming in second.
Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents on National Highways in 2022, followed by Madhya Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of persons killed in road accidents.
The report stated that Uttar Pradesh ranked first among the states in terms of the number of fatalities (22,595 i.e., 13.4%) caused by road accidents, followed by Tamil Nadu (17,884 i.e., 10.6%). According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) report, the annual report is compiled based on data provided by the police departments of states and union territories (UTs).
This data is collected on a calendar year basis and follows standardized formats provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project.