total of 4,61,312 road accidents have been reported by States and Union Territories (UTs) during the calendar year 2022, which claimed 1,68,491 lives and caused injuries to 4,43,366 persons. This marks an increase of 11.9% in accidents, 9.4% in fatalities, and 15.3% in injuries compared to the previous year. Here are seven key takeaways from the report. 1. Overspeeding is the biggest killer
  • In 2022, over speeding accounted for 72.3 percent of the total road accidents, 71.2 percent of total deaths and 72.8 percent of total injuries, up 12.8 percent, 11.8 percent and 15.2 per cent respectively when compared to the previous year.
  • Driving on the wrong side was the second highest cause of the total road accidents in 2022, accounting for 4.9 per cent of all accidents.
2. Most accidents occurred on straight roads
  • As per the data, 67 per cent of all accidents occurred on straight roads. This is over four times the total number of accidents that took place on curved roads, roads with potholes, and roads having a steep gradient, combined (13.8 per cent).
3. ‘Hit from back’ collisions were most common
  • Most collisions in 2022 were, what the report classifies as ‘hit from back’. These accounted for over 21 per cent of all collisions, followed by ‘head on collisions’ which accounted for 16.9 per cent.
7 takeaways from GoI’s report on road accidents explained for UPSC (Credits- Indian Express) 4. Most road accidents occurred on a clear day
  • Almost three fourth of all accidents and fatalities took place under ‘sunny/clear’ weather. Accidents under adverse weather conditions such as rain, fog and hail accounted for just about 16.6 percent of total road accidents during 2022.
5. Two-wheelers accounted for highest number of accidents and deaths
  • A total of 63,115 accidents involving two wheelers took place in 2022. These led to 25,228 deaths. Cars and pedestrians saw the next highest number of accidents, at 29,005 (10,174 deaths) and 20,513 (10,160 deaths) respectively.
6. Highest fatality rate in Sikkim, lowest in Ladakh, Daman & Diu
  • Fatality rate is used to explain road accidents relative to vehicular population in a given location. It is measured by the number of road accident fatalities per 10,000 vehicles. Sikkim reported the highest fatality rate, standing at 17. UTs Ladakh and Daman & Diu had the lowest fatality rate at 0. The all India rate stood at 5.2.
7. Tamil Nadu reported highest number of accidents
  • Tamil Nadu reported 64,105 total accidents, 15.1 per cent up from the previous year. This accounted for over 13 per cent of total accidents reported in India. At the next spot was Madhya Pradesh, which reported 54,432 accidents.
Conclusion- Government needs to identify all the vulnerable areas that are leading to most traffic accidents. Comprehensive policy should follow thereafter to fill the gaps going forward. Syllabus- GS-3; Infrastructure Source- Indian Express