India sees post-Covid dip in highway fatalities as safety measures pay off
New Delhi, Aug 3
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, India has reported a fall in fatalities on its national highways, and development officials are hailing it as evidence that road safety interventions are beginning to take hold.
According to figures tabled in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), deaths on national highways and centrally managed expressways dropped 4.1 per cent in the past year, sliding from 64,772 to 62,122.
The reversal comes after years of steadily rising fatalities as traffic volumes surged back to pre-pandemic levels. While overall road accidents across the country-including those on state highways and city roads-continued to climb, the national highway network showed a rare improvement.
The government attributes the decline to its "4E strategy"-Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Emergency Care. Officials point to large-scale rectification of accident-prone blackspots, improved road design, better signage, tighter access control, and expanded use of speed cameras and electronic monitoring.
Emergency response initiatives, including cashless treatment schemes aimed at saving lives during the critical "golden hour," were also highlighted as key factors.
Among states, Uttar Pradesh led the improvement, recording a sharp fall in highway deaths from 9,560 to 7,573. Madhya Pradesh followed with a reduction from 4,644 to 3,610, while Punjab saw fatalities decline from 1,562 to 1,022.
Yet the picture was uneven: fifteen states and Union Territories reported increases, with Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar among those registering higher tolls.
Despite the encouraging trend, experts caution that India's road safety challenge remains formidable. Overspeeding continues to be the leading cause of fatal crashes, followed by wrong-side driving, driver fatigue and mobile phone distraction.
The latest figures, compiled through the government's electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) portal, suggest progress but underline the need for sustained enforcement and infrastructure upgrades to maintain momentum.
The decline in highway deaths offers a glimmer of hope in a country that has long struggled with one of the world's highest road fatality rates. Whether this marks the beginning of a lasting shift will depend on how consistently the government and states can build on these early gains.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Good to see UP and MP improving, but what about Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra? Every state needs to be held accountable. The 4E strategy sounds promising but enforcement is still weak in rural areas. We need more speed cameras on state highways too, not just national ones.
The "golden hour" cashless treatment scheme is a game changer. My cousin survived a nasty accident on the Yamuna Expressway last year because he got emergency care within minutes. Still, overspeeding is rampant - people treat highways like racing tracks. Education campaigns need to reach villages too.
Impressive progress! As someone who travels to India frequently for work, I've noticed the road infrastructure improving. The e-DAR data tracking seems like a smart move. Keep investing in road safety - it saves lives and boosts economic productivity.
Happy to see improvement but let's not celebrate too early. 15 states showing an increase is concerning. I travel on NH-44 regularly and still see trucks driving without proper lights at night. Enforcement needs to be stricter, especially in smaller towns. Halwa-paani culture in RTOs needs to end. 😤
The blackspot rectification is finally showing results. I remember NH-48 near my hometown had a notorious accident spot - after they fixed the curve and added reflectors, incidents dropped dramatically. But we need more pedestrian bridges and proper lighting on expressways. India can definitely do better with smart traffic management systems like they have in the West.
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