Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu top in fatal road accidents
29 Aug 2007
According to the reports submitted by the states and union territories on fatal road accidents, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have the dubious distinction of having the highest recorded road-accident related mortality in the country.
According
to the reports submitted by the state governments and union territory administrations
for the three years up to 2005, the all India recorded fatalities in road accidents
is:
| States /UTs. | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Maharashtra | 65686 | 67720 | 72408 |
Kerala | 39496 | 41219 | 42295 |
| Tamil Nadu | 51025 | 52508 | 53866 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 34826 | 38904 | 37131 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 245 | 241 | 231 |
| Assam | 3262 | 3688 | 4258 |
| Bihar | 6141 | 4027 | 3768 |
| Chhatisgarh | 10521 | 10600 | 11164 |
| Goa | 3244 | 3525 | 3577 |
| Gujarat | 30604 | 30630 | 30515 |
| Haryana | 8690 | 9321 | 9298 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 2680 | 2808 | 2797 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 5904 | 6257 | 5664 |
| Jharkhand | 4211 | 4614 | 5013 |
| Karnataka | 37658 | 38869 | 40330 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 30164 | 32445 | 35123 |
| Manipur | 523 | 468 | 600 |
| Meghalaya | 617 | 433 | 428 |
| Mizoram | 122 | 83 | 96 |
| Nagaland | 101 | 140 | 226 |
| Orissa | 6668 | 7278 | 7593 |
| Punjab | 4429 | 4346 | 4599 |
| Rajasthan | 21933 | 23243 | 23115 |
| Sikkim | 131 | 159 | 189 |
| Tripura | 676 | 645 | 657 |
| Uttaranchal | 1222 | 1252 | 1332 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 14286 | 18493 | 18325 |
| West Bengal | 10444 | 14431 | 12597 |
| A & N Islands | 180 | 215 | 205 |
| Chandigarh | 442 | 417 | 530 |
| D & N Haveli | 73 | 111 | 127 |
| Daman & Diu | 72 | 61 | 62 |
| Delhi | 8863 | 9087 | 9351 |
| Lakshadweep | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Pondicherry | 1586 | 1633 | 1780 |
| Total | 406726 | 429910 | 439255 |
The road accidents data for some developed and developing countries during 2003 and 2004 is:
| No | Name of the country | Number of road accidents2004 | |
| 2003 | 2004 | ||
| 1 | Brazil | 1,04,863 | 1,12,457 |
| 2 | Canada | 1,56,904 | 1,51,321 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 23,840 | 22,891 |
| 4 | Germany | 3,54,534 | 3,39,310 |
| 5 | France | 87,000 | 85,400 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 2,14,030 | 2,07,410 |
| 7 | India | 4,06,726 | 4,29,910 |
| 8 | Japan | 9,47,993 | 9,52,191 |
| 9 | New Zealand | 10,615 | 10,368 |
| 10 | Singapore | 6,443 | 6,845 |
| 11 | Sweden | 18,365 | 18,029 |
| 12 | United States | 19,63,000 | 19,00,000 |
Minister of state for shipping, road transport and highways K H Muniyappa said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today that the safety of road users was primarily the responsibility of individual state governments.
He, also, pointed out the steps taken to improve road safety such as:
i)
Improved road design at the planning stage for national highways / expressways.
ii)
Steps to enhance road safety such as road furniture, road markings / road signs,
introduction of ''highway traffic management system'' using ''intelligent transport
system'', enhancement of discipline among contractors during construction, road
safety audit on selected stretches, have been undertaken by National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI).
iii) Refresher training to heavy Motor Vehicle
drivers in the unorganized sector.
iv) Involvement of NGOs for road safety
activities by the department of road transport and highways and the NHAI.
v)
Setting up of ''model driving training school'' in the country.
vi) Publicity
campaigns on road-safety awareness through audio-visual and print media.
vii)
Institution of National Award for voluntary organisations / individual for outstanding
work in the field of road safety.
viii) Tightening of safety standards
of vehicles.
ix) Provision of cranes and ambulances to various state governments
/ NGOs under the ''national highway accident relief service scheme''. National Highways
Authority of India also provides ambulances at a distance of 50km on each of its
completed highways under its operation and maintenance contracts.
x)
Widening and improvements of national highways from two lanes to four lanes and
from four lanes to six lanes.
