Parliament Question: Accident fatalities on the Highways of Uttar Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1363 ANSWERED ON - 11/02/2026 ACCIDENT FATALITIES ON THE HIGHWAYS OF UTTAR PRADESH 1363. DR. LAXMIKANT BAJPAYEE: Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS be pleased to state :- (a) whether National and State Highways in Uttar Pradesh have taken more lives than roads anywhere else in the country as per the latest report of road accidents in the country; (b) the reasons for such a high number of fatalities on road accidents in Uttar Pradesh; (c) whether State’s vast road network suffers from poor quality, inadequate lighting, missing safety barriers and lack of availability of prompt medical care to victims etc.; and (d) if so, in what manner Government, propose to reduce and stop such a high number of road accident fatalities in Uttar Pradesh? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI) (a) and (b) As per the data received from States/ UTs, details of the number of road accident fatalities classified according to road category i.e. National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH) and other roads across the country during the year 2023 and 2024 is attached as Annexure – I. As per the report, road accidents occur due to multiple causes such as over speeding, use of mobile phone, drunken driving/consumption of alcohol and drug, driving on wrong side/ lane indiscipline, jumping red light, non-use of safety devices such as helmets and seat belts, vehicular condition, weather condition, road condition, etc. (c) and (d) As per information received from Transport Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh,the State has the most extensive road network with total road length of approximately 4.5 lakh km besides having the highest population amongst all States & UTs in the country. Road safety audit of National Highways is carried out by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at regular intervals and by Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department (UPPWD) through Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and IIT Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on State Highways and other roads. As per the audit reports, rectification measures are taken which include improvement of poor geometry, inadequate lighting, missing safety barriers etc. For prompt medical care to road crash victims 2200 basic life support ambulances are available under toll free no 108 with an average response time of 7.22 minutes. Further, Government has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on 4E's i.e. Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care. Accordingly, various initiatives have been taken for road safety in the country as detailed at Annexure II.Annexure -I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) and (b) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1363 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026 ASKED BY DR. LAXMIKANT BAJPAYEE REGARDING ACCIDENT FATALITIES ON THE HIGHWAYS OF UTTAR PRADESH. Number of road accident deaths classified by road categories during 2023 and 2024 Sl. No. States NH SH Other roads 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 1 Andhra Pradesh 3806 4014 1887 1909 2444 2423 2 Arunachal Pradesh 88 96 38 43 19 29 3 Assam 1564 1722 707 620 1025 1009 4 Bihar 4078 4012 1797 2094 2998 3241 5 Chhattisgarh 1910 1952 1078 1154 3178 3839 6 Goa 102 108 51 25 137 153 7 Gujarat 2233 2192 2233 2229 3388 3296 8 Haryana 2033 2052 732 664 2203 1973 9 Himachal Pradesh 365 312 177 128 347 429 10 Jharkhand 1672 1686 814 872 1687 1556 11 Karnataka 4383 4278 3448 3444 4490 4668 12 Kerala 1056 940 939 871 2085 2069 13 Madhya Pradesh 4476 4644 2960 3245 6362 6902 14 Maharashtra 5780 5812 3215 3169 6371 6734 15 Manipur 51 49 9 10 13 13 16 Meghalaya 78 102 34 25 56 70 17 Mizoram 47 66 36 33 13 11 18 Nagaland 60 37 19 9 7 16 19 Odisha 2180 2358 1150 1163 2409 2621 20 Punjab 1895 1562 1330 1023 1604 2174 21 Rajasthan 4172 4285 2380 2343 5210 5162 22 Sikkim 24 24 15 24 18 19 23 Tamil Nadu 6258 6376 6325 6069 5764 6004 24 Telangana 3058 3066 717 686 3885 4197 25 Tripura 129 114 85 73 47 39 26 Uttarakhand 564 543 167 183 323 364 27 Uttar Pradesh 8446 9560 5698 5242 9508 9316 28 West Bengal* 1957 2113 1244 1750 2826 2813 29 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 6 14 5 7 13 8 30 Chandigarh 4 3 0 0 63 72 31 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 2 1 28 33 44 61 32 Delhi 230 258 0 0 1227 1293 33 Jammu & Kashmir 294 271 91 75 508 485 34 Ladakh 37 45 13 14 9 2 35 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 Puducherry 74 105 17 48 58 65 Total 63112 64772 39439 39277 70339 73126 Note: *Figures of West Bengal for the Year 2024 are re-casted based on the pattern of the data furnished by the State Police Department for the year 2023 and the aggregate e-DAR data of the State for the year 2024.Annexure -II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) and (d) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1363 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026 ASKED BY DR. LAXMIKANT BAJPAYEE REGARDING ACCIDENT FATALITIES ON THE HIGHWAYS OF UTTAR PRADESH. Details of various initiatives taken by the Government in Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for road safety : - (1) Education: i. Administers a scheme for setting up of Institutes of Driving Training & Research (IDTRs), Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs) and Driving Training Centres (DTCs) at State/district level across the Country. Recently revised scheme guidelines have been issued, incorporating enhanced financial assistance and streamlined eligibility criteria for establishing Driving Training Institutes. Additionally, incentives have been introduced for setting up Automated Testing Stations (ATS) in conjunction with Driving Training Institutes (DTIs) under the Training-Testing Cluster approach. ii. Administers Road Safety Advocacy Scheme for raising awareness about road safety and for administering road safety programs. iii. Observance of National Road Safety Month every year for spreading awareness and strengthening road safety. (2) Engineering : 2.1. Road engineering: i. Road Safety Audit (RSA) of all National Highways (NHs) has been made mandatory through third party auditors/ experts at all stages i.e. design, construction, operation and maintenance etc. ii. High priority is accorded to identification and rectification of black spots /accident spots on NHs. iii. Road Safety Officer (RSO) has been designated at each Regional Office of road owning agencies to look after RSA and other road safety related works. iv. Administers the electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) Project to establish a central repository for reporting, management and analysis of road accidents data across the Country. v. Issued guidelines for the provision of signages on Expressways and National Highways to offer improved visibility and intuitive guidance to the drivers. vi. Provisions have been made in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for failure to comply with standards for the road design, construction and maintenance, as prescribed by the Central Government from time to time. 2.2 Vehicle engineering: Various initiatives were undertaken to make vehicles safer, including the following:- i. Mandatory provision of an airbag for the passenger seated on the front seat of a vehicle, next to the driver. ii. Prescribed norms related to safety measures for children below four years of age, riding or being carried on a motor cycle. It also specifies use of a safety harness, crash helmet and restricts speed to 40kmph. iii. Mandatory provisions for fitment of following listed safety technologies: -For M1 category vehicles: a. Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and co-driver. b. Manual Override for central locking system c. Over speed warning system. For all M and N category vehicles: a. Reverse Parking Alert System iv. Mandated Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) for certain classes of L [Motor vehicle with less than four wheels and includes a Quadricycle], M [Motor vehicles with at least four wheels used for carrying passengers] and N [Motor vehicles with at least four wheels used for carrying goods which may also carry persons in addition to goods, subject to conditions stipulated in BIS standards] categories. v. Mandated speed limiting function/speed limiting device in all transport vehicles, except for two wheelers, three wheelers, quadricycles, fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles. vi. Published the rules for recognition, regulation and control of Automated Testing Stations, which define the procedure for fitness testing of vehicles through automated equipment and the procedure for grant of fitness certificate by ATSs. The rules have been further amended on 31.10.2022 and 14.03.2024. vii. Formulated the Vehicle Scrapping Policy based on incentives/dis-incentives and for creating an ecosystem to phase out old, unfit and polluting vehicles. viii. Formulated a Scheme to set up one model Inspection & Certification Centre in each State/UT with Central assistance for testing the fitness of vehicles through an automated system. ix. Published rules regarding the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP) to introduce the concept of safety rating of passenger cars and empower consumers to take informed decisions. x. Published rules regarding prescribed level playing field in the area of manufacturing of buses by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Bus Body Builders. xi. Mandated vehicles, manufactured on or after 1st October, 2025, shall be fitted with an air- conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles of N2 (goods vehicle with gross vehicle weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12.0 tonnes) and N3 (goods vehicle with gross vehicle weight exceeding 12.0 tonnes) category. xii. Published rules for revision of standards for Safety Belt, Restraint Systems and Safety Belt Reminder to provide provisions for applicability of revised standards for safety belt assemblies, safety belt anchorages and the installation of Safety Belts and Restraint Systems, in Motor vehicles of category M,N and L7 w.e.f. 01st April, 2025. Further, the vehicles of category M1, manufactured on and after the 1st April 2025, shall meet the requirement of safety belt reminder for all front facing rear seats as per AIS-145-2018. xiii. Published rules for Active safety features in Medium and Heavy Duty vehicles, which provide for Braking System including Anti-lock Braking, Endurance Braking System for M2, M3, N1, N2, N3 and Quadricycle (effective for new models from 1st January, 2027 and for existing models from 1st October, 2027), and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) including Vehicle Stability Function (VSF), Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning Systems, Blind Spot Information Systems and Moving off Information Systems for M2, M3, N2 and N3 categories of vehicles (effective for new models from 1st October, 2027 and for existing models from 1st January, 2028). (3) Enforcement:i. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 as stands implemented provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance and enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules and strict enforcement through use of technology. Traffic management and enforcement is essentially in the domain of State Governments/UT Administrations. While Central Government formulates rules under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the enforcement of these rules comes under the purview of State Governments/UT Administrations. ii. Issued rules for Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety. The rules specify the detailed provisions for placement of electronic enforcement devices on high risk & high density corridors on National Highways, State Highways and critical junctions cities having a population of more than one million in the country and cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). iii. Government has issued guidelines for incentive to States for Implementation of Electronic Enforcement of Road Safety under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2025-26 (SASCI 2025-26) with allocation of Rs. 3,000 Crore (on first come first serve basis). iv. On 10th June, 2024, the Government has issued an advisory to all the States and Union territories on technological interventions for ensuring compliance with Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. (4) Emergency care: i. Revised the scheme guidelines (named as Rah-Veer) for the protection of Good Samaritan, who in good faith, voluntarily and without expectation of any reward or compensation renders emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance at the scene of an accident to the victim or transports such victim to the hospital. As per the scheme, the reward for Rah-Veer has been increased to Rs. 25,000/- from Rs. 5,000/-. ii. Enhanced compensation of victims of Hit and Run motor accidents (from Rs. 12,500 to Rs. 50,000 for grievous hurt and from Rs. 25,000 to Rs.2,00,000 for death). iii. The National Highways Authority of India has made provisions for ambulances with paramedical staff/Emergency Medical Technician/Nurse at toll plazas on the completed corridors of National Highways. iv. Government in Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified the Cashless Treatment of Road Accident Victims Scheme, 2025 on 5th May, 2025. The detailed guidelines including process flow, stakeholder wise standard operating procedures and clearly delineated roles and responsibilities have also been notified on 4th June, 2025. *****