Over 1.73L died in road accidents

New Delhi: More than 1.73 lakh people were killed and 4,47,969 others were injured in road accidents across the country in 2023 with 45.8 per cent of the victims riding two wheelers, while over-speeding and careless driving were found to be the two major causes of road accidents, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

Most of the road accidents, 95,984 out of the total 4,64,029, in the country in 2023 were reported during 6 pm to 9 pm, accounting for 20.7 per cent of the total road accidents. From 3 pm to 6 pm and 12 noon to 3 pm accounted for 17.3 per cent (80,482 cases) and 15 per cent (69,397 cases), respectively.

A total of 4,64,029 road accident cases were reported in 2023 -- 17,261 more than 2022 -- with a 1.6 per cent increase in fatalities, from 1,71,100 in 2022 to 1,73,826 in 2023, the NCRB report said.

Two-wheelers have accounted for maximum fatal road accidents (79,533 deaths), contributing 45.8 per cent of total road accident deaths, followed by pedestrians (27,586 deaths) (15.9 per cent) and SUV/car/jeep (24,776 deaths) (14.3 per cent).

Majority of deaths due to two-wheelers’ accidents were reported in Tamil Nadu (11,490 deaths) and Uttar Pradesh (8,370 deaths), accounting for 14.4 per cent and 10.5 per cent of total deaths, respectively.

State/UT-wise patterns revealed that maximum fatalities in road accidents on the National Highways took place in Uttar Pradesh (11.7 per cent of 60,127 deaths) followed by Tamil Nadu (10.4 per cent), Maharashtra (8.5 per cent), Karnataka (7 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (7 per cent) during 2023.