Parliament Question: Road Accidents

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1991 ANSWERED ON 11TH DECEMBER, 2025 ROAD ACCIDENTS 1991. SHRI KHALILUR RAHAMAN: Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार् गमत्रं ी be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has recorded the number of road accidents in the country during the last five years and if so, the details thereof, State-wise; (b) the initiatives taken by the Government to curb rash driving and mitigate the possibility of accidents; and (c) the initiatives taken by the Government to ensure civilian help in the case of road accidents and mitigate undue harassment subjected to them on helping the injured? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI) (a) As per data received from Police Departments of States/Union Territories, details of road accidents on all categories of roads in the country for the years 2020 to 2024 is annexed as per Annexure – I. (b) The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is the principal instrument through which road transport is regulated in the country. The Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 focuses on road safety and includes, inter-alia, revision in penalties for traffic violations, enhanced penalties for juvenile driving, computerisation/automation of vehicle fitness anddriving tests, recall of defective vehicles, streamlining the third party insurance,etc. The Amendment has strengthened the Law to improve the road safety scenario and reduce loss of lives. In exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of section 112 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Central Government fixes the maximum speed in respect of the class of motor vehicles on different category of roads. Sub-section (1) of Section 183 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, states that 'whoever drives or causes any person who is employed by him or subjects someone under his control to drive a motor vehicle in contravention of the speed limits referred to in section 112 shall be punishable in the following manner: — (i) where such motor vehicle is a light motor vehicle with fine which shall not be less than one thousand rupees but may extend to two thousand rupees; (ii) where such motor vehicle is a medium goods vehicle or a medium passenger vehicle or a heavy goods vehicle or a heavy passenger vehicle with fine which shall not be less than two thousand rupees, but may extend to four thousand rupees; and (iii) for the second or any subsequent offence under this sub- section the driving licence of such driver shall be impounded as per the provisions of the sub section (4) of section 206. Detailed guidelines are contained in IRC:99-2018 for traffic calming measures, in which various traffic measures such as rumble strip, Speed Bumps, Speed Table/Raised Pedestrian Crossing etc. are provided on National Highways and adjoining road meeting with a National Highway. 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.(c) The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 enacted in August, 2019, Section 134A provides for protection of Good Samaritans i.e. a person, 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. In exercise of the powers conferred by section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Central Government has also notified rules for legal protection of the Good Samaritans as Rule 168 - Rights of Good Samaritan and Rule 169 - Examination of Good Samaritan under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 vide GSR 594(E) dated 29.09.2020. These rules provides protection to Good Samaritans from harassment on the actions taken by them to save the life of the road accident victims. Further, the objective of the Scheme is to motivate the general public to help the road accident victims in emergency situations (i.e. conditions which involve major surgery or minimum three days of hospitalization or Brain injuries or Spinal cord injuries), inspire and motivate others to save innocent lives. The revised guidelines of the scheme has been issued on 21.04.2025, which provides for a reward of Rs. 25000/- and a certificate of appreciation per incident to each Good Samaritan (re-named as Rah-Veer), subject to maximum 5 awards to an individual in a year. The scheme is implemented through States and UTs.Annexure - I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1991 ANSWERED ON 11TH DECEMBER, 2025 ASKED BY SHRI KHALILUR RAHAMAN REGARDING ROAD ACCIDENTS. State-wise number of Road Accidents in India from 2020 to 2024 S. States/UTs 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 No. 1 Andhra Pradesh 19,509 21,556 21,249 19,949 19557 2 Arunachal Pradesh 134 283 227 287 277 3 Assam 6,595 7,411 7,023 7,421 7848 4 Bihar 8,639 9,553 10,801 11,014 11610 5 Chhattisgarh 11,656 12,375 13,279 13,468 14857 6 Goa 2,375 2,849 3,011 2,846 2682 7 Gujarat 13,398 15,186 15,751 16,349 15588 8 Haryana 9,431 9,933 10,429 10,463 9806 9 Himachal Pradesh 2,239 2,404 2,597 2,253 2156 10 Jharkhand 4,405 4,728 5,175 5,315 5196 11 Karnataka 34,178 34,647 39,762 43,440 43062 12 Kerala 27,877 33,296 43,910 48,091 48834 13 Madhya Pradesh 45,266 48,877 54,432 55,327 56669 14 Maharashtra 24,971 29,477 33,383 35,243 36118 15 Manipur 432 366 508 398 299 16 Meghalaya 214 245 246 223 269 17 Mizoram 53 69 133 106 118 18 Nagaland 500 746 489 303 129 19 Odisha 9,817 10,983 11,663 11,992 12375 20 Punjab 5,203 5,871 6,138 6,269 6063 21 Rajasthan 19,114 20,951 23,614 24,694 24838 22 Sikkim 138 155 211 182 149 23 Tamil Nadu 49,844 55,682 64,105 67,213 67526 24 Telangana 19,172 21,315 21,619 22,903 25986 25 Tripura 466 479 575 577 578 26 Uttarakhand 1,041 1,405 1,674 1,691 1747 27 Uttar Pradesh 34,243 37,729 41,746 44,534 46052 28 West Bengal 10,863 11,937 13,686 13,795 13,700 29 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 141 115 141 143 135 30 Chandigarh 159 208 237 182 169 31 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman 100 140 196 182 152 & Diu 32 Delhi 4,178 4,720 5,652 5,834 5657 33 J & K 4,860 5,452 6,092 6,298 5808 34 Ladakh NA 236 374 289 26435 Lakshadweep 1 4 3 1 0 36 Puducherry 969 1,049 1,181 1,308 1431 Total (All India) 3,72,181 4,12,432 4,61,312 4,80,583 4,87,705 Note: 1. Data have been reconciled for West Bengal for and Tamil Nadu for the calendar year 2020. 2. Data of west Bengal for the Year 2024 is taken from eDAR Portal as on 08.12.2025.Annexure - II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1991 ANSWERED ON 11TH DECEMBER, 2025 ASKED BY SHRI KHALILUR RAHAMAN REGARDING ROAD ACCIDENTS. 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 under the Ministry 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. *****