India suffers heavy human losses in road accidents last year: report

NEW DELHI, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- A total of 168,491 people were killed and 443,366 others injured in road accidents in India last year, according to a government report.

The report, released by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry, showed that the number of road accidents and resultant deaths last year rose alarmingly by 11.9 percent and 9.4 percent respectively, compared to the previous year.

There was also a 15.3 percent increase in the number of people getting injured.

In 2022, 461,312 road accidents were recorded, of which 151,997 took place on national highways including expressways, 106,682 on state highways, and the remaining 202,633 on other roads, the report said.

"Young adults in the age group of 18-45 years accounted for 66.5 percent of victims during 2022," the report said. "People in the working age group of 18-60 years constitute 83.4 percent of total road accident fatalities."

The government said that the report underscored the urgency of adopting a comprehensive approach to address contributing factors to these accidents, including speeding, reckless driving, drunken driving, and non-compliance with traffic regulations.

"It is crucial that we strengthen enforcement mechanisms, enhance driver education and training programs, and invest in improving the condition of roads and vehicles," the report said.

Deadly road accidents are common in India due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.

The Indian government has set a target to reduce road accident deaths by 50 percent by 2024.