Parliament Question: Road safety and accidents

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 2989 ANSWERED ON - 18/03/2026 ROAD SAFETY AND ACCIDENTS

2989. SHRI A. D. SINGH:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS be pleased to state :-

(a) the total number of road accidents and fatalities reported in the last three years, State- wise;

(b) the major causes identified for such accidents; and

(c) the measures taken by Government to improve road safety, enforce traffic discipline and eliminate black spots? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a) to (c) As per the data received from States/ UTs, details of number of road accidents and fatalities on all categories of roads in the country during the calendar years 2022, 2023 and 2024 is placed at 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 conditions, road conditions, etc.

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) to (c) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2989 ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 ASKED BY SHRI A. D. SINGH REGARDING ROAD SAFETY AND ACCIDENTS.

State-wise number of Road Accidents and Fatalities during the calendar years 2022, 2023 and 2024 :- S. States/UTs 2022 2023 2024 No. Accidents Fatalities Accidents Fatalities Accidents Fatalities 1 Andhra Pradesh 21,249 8,293 19,949 8,137 19557 8346 2 Arunachal Pradesh 227 148 287 145 277 168 3 Assam 7,023 2,994 7,421 3,296 7848 3351 4 Bihar 10,801 8,898 11,014 8,873 11610 9347 5 Chhattisgarh 13,279 5,834 13,468 6,166 14857 6945 6 Goa 3,011 271 2,846 290 2682 286 7 Gujarat 15,751 7,618 16,349 7,854 15588 7717 8 Haryana 10,429 4,915 10,463 4,968 9806 4689 9 Himachal Pradesh 2,597 1,032 2,253 889 2156 869 10 Jharkhand 5,175 3,898 5,315 4,173 5196 4114 11 Karnataka 39,762 11,702 43,440 12,321 43062 12390 12 Kerala 43,910 4,317 48,091 4,080 48834 3880 13 Madhya Pradesh 54,432 13,427 55,327 13,798 56669 14791 14 Maharashtra 33,383 15,224 35,243 15,366 36118 15715 15 Manipur 508 127 398 73 299 72 16 Meghalaya 246 162 223 168 269 197 17 Mizoram 133 113 106 96 118 110 18 Nagaland 489 73 303 86 129 62 19 Odisha 11,663 5,467 11,992 5,739 12375 6142 20 Punjab 6,138 4,756 6,269 4,829 6063 4759 21 Rajasthan 23,614 11,104 24,694 11,762 24838 11790 22 Sikkim 211 92 182 57 149 67 23 Tamil Nadu 64,105 17,884 67,213 18,347 67526 18449 24 Telangana 21,619 7,559 22,903 7,660 25986 7949 25 Tripura 575 241 577 261 578 226 26 Uttarakhand 1,674 1,042 1,691 1,054 1747 1090 27 Uttar Pradesh 41,746 22,595 44,534 23,652 46052 24118 28 West Bengal 13,686 6,002 13,795 6,027 13702 6676 29 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 141 19 143 24 135 29 30 Chandigarh 237 83 182 67 169 75 31 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 196* 90* 182 74 152 95 32 Delhi 5,652 1,461 5,834 1,457 5657 1551 33 J & K 6,092 805 6,298 893 5808 831 34 Ladakh 374 62 289 59 264 61 35 Lakshadweep 3 2 1 0 0 0 36 Puducherry 1,181 181 1,308 149 1431 218 Total (All India) 461312 168491 480583 172890 487707 177175Annexure - II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2989 ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 ASKED BY SHRI A.D. SINGH REGARDING ROAD SAFETY AND 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 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.

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