Why a maximum number of accidents occur in India?

Reasons to road accidents in India:

• Over-speeding: Speeding continues to be the biggest reason for fatal crashes. In 2019, such fatalities increased to 1.02 lakh compared to 97,588 in 2018.
• Driving on the wrong side of roads: It claimed 9,200 lives in 2019 with more than one-fourth of such fatalities (2,726) occurring on national highways.  It was the second biggest reason for deaths on high-speed roads. According to the Road Accident in India 2019 report, a total of 8,764 lives were lost due to the wrong side driving on all Indian roads in 2018.
• Not wearing helmets and seatbelts: Nearly 30% of the total 1.5 lakh deaths in road accidents in 2019 were due to not wearing helmets and another 16% of fatalities were on account of not wearing seatbelts. Of the 56,136 two-wheeler riders who were killed last year, 44,666 were found riding without helmets and Uttar Pradesh topped the list of states in this category. And in case of seatbelt violations, a total of 20,885 persons (drivers and passengers) were killed in 2019, which was 14.5% less than in 2018.
• Use of Mobile Phone while driving: Use of mobile phones while driving caused a sharp rise in fatalities in road crashes — they were up by nearly 33% in 2019 as compared to 2018. This is the maximum rise in deaths in percentage terms among all types of violations.

When the 'National Road Safety Week' begin to celebrate?

• National road safety week is celebrated from 11th January to 17th January every year in our country India to create awareness about road safety and minimize road accidents & save a life.
• At first, in the year, 1989 awareness for the National Road Safety Week was celebrated and at that time about 36,000 had lost their lives. So this tragic story is related to the observation of this awareness week.
• Later in the year, 2010 march 15 gave sanction to the National Road Safety policy by Cabinet Union of India which was recommended by the Sunder Committee through a written document in 2007 February.
• During the Road Safety Week in India, the police forces and other departments working for street safety will spread awareness about the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 and Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill of 2019.
• Several workshops, seminars, and meetings will be organized to tell people about the rules and regulations that have been laid down by the Government. It will not only focus on the precautionary measures but also educate the masses via banners, pamphlets, and hand-outs. Boards with emergency contact numbers will be put up at several locations.
• Recently, from 11th January to 17th January 2021, India celebrated its 32nd 'National Road Safety Week' which was themed on 'Safe yourself to save your family’.
• 31st National Road Safety week 2020 theme, ‘ No need to speed’. Severe accident issues or maximum accident cases are due to the speed of vehicles where people died on the spot.

Where is the most unsafe road in India?

Most dangerous cities to drive

• Jaipur reported the second-highest number of road deaths — 1,283 in all — among million-plus cities in 2019 after Delhi, the Pink City was ranked fourth in 2018.
• Delhi remains the city with maximum fatalities, reporting 1,463 deaths despite 227 fewer deaths in 2019 compared to the previous year.
• Chennai ranks number three with 1,252 deaths and Mumbai ranks at 11th reporting 447 fatalities during last year.

Most Dangerous states to drive in

Among states, Uttar Pradesh continued to report maximum road deaths since 2015 followed by Maharashtra, which has registered second highest deaths for the past two years. The data released by the road transport ministry show that UP registered 22,655 deaths in 2019 followed by Maharashtra (12,788). Madhya Pradesh has been reporting more road fatalities and ranked third among the states in 2019.

Who is the most unsafe on Indian Roads?

       According to the report, the pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders killed in road crashes has been increasing consistently even as the country has accelerated construction of more roads for fast-moving vehicles. Their share in total road deaths has jumped to 57% in 2019 compared to 47% in 2016.

       In recent years, the government has made several norms mandatory for cars, trucks and buses for occupant safety, however, that’s not the case for two-wheelers. There has been no relief for pedestrians and cyclists across India either as there are no spaces demarcated for them or the designated spaces have encroached. Nearly 59% of the accident victims, who were hospitalised, were two-wheeler riders and another 15.5% were pedestrians.

How the "National Road Safety Month" will be beneficial to reduce road accidents?

Road Safety Week is observed from 11 January to 17th January every year and aims at making the roads and streets in India safer. During the one-week observance, the government spreads awareness about how to avoid accidents and injuries while on the road.

And from 18 January to 17 February 2021 instead of National Road Safety Week, the government decided to celebrate the 'National Road Safety Month'. 

• Various nation-wide activities have been planned to be conducted throughout the country in association with the state governments/ UT administrations, OEMs and other stakeholders.
• During this period, the awards will be given to the best performance in road safety to a state as well as Swacchta Award, road safety activities by NHIDCL (National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited), HOAI (Highway Operator Association of India), NHAI among others.
• The various activities that are slated to take place during National Road Safety Month 2021 include advocacy of road safety, road safety awards, launch of digital road safety calendar 2021, selection of best performing states and UTS for road safety 2021, awards and certificates for road safety, good samaritans etc, and National Highways Excellency Awards.
• Such an initiative will encourage states and UTs to take strict action against road accidental to reduce the causes of road accidents.