Road crashes biggest cause of death in India, over-speeding main reason: Report

NEW DELHI: Road crashes are the biggest cause of deaths due to unintentional injuries in India, accounting for more than 43 per cent of such fatalities, with over-speeding being the leading reason, according to a report prepared by the Union Health Ministry.

The other contributors to deaths due to unintentional injuries are drowning, falls, poisoning and burns, said the report titled "National Strategy for prevention of unintentional injury" that was launched during "Safety 2024", the 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 2024.

"Analysis reveals a significant disparity in mortality rates based on location. Rural areas bear the brunt of RTI fatalities with 67.8 per cent of deaths compared to 32.2 per cent in urban areas. The data suggests that open areas and residential zones might be particularly dangerous, with potentially higher fatality rates compared to other locations," the report said.

National Highways, which have a share of only 2.1 per cent of the total road length in the country, account for the maximum number of road fatalities and were responsible for 45 lives per 100 km in 2022.

The three-day conference is being hosted by IIT-Delhi, George Institute for Global Health in collaboration with AIIMS, Nimhans, and is co-sponsored by WHO.

"The global injury and violence prevention community has made good progress… However, injuries and violence still take the lives of around 4.4 million (44 lakh) people every year. Much more action is needed," said Etienne Krug, chair, International Organising Committee for World Conferences on Injury Prevention (IOC), WHO.

The report noted that despite efforts to improve road safety, India continues to grapple with a high number of fatalities due to road traffic injuries.