NEW DELHI: On an average, every 2.5 km of national highways claimed one life due to road accidents in 2018, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau NCRB.
The report, based on information shared by states, has said 50,771 people died in accidents on the country’s NH network and this worked out to 44 deaths per 100 km.
According to NCRB, of the total 4.12 lakh accident deaths reported in 2018, only 6,891 were due to natural forces such as lightning, sun stroke and severe cold. Traffic accidents , including railroad crashes, had over 44% share of non-natural fatalities and the death figure was over 1.78 lakh. Road accidents had the lion’s share of these fatalities, registering nearly 1.53 lakh deaths. This is nearly 1,000 more deaths than what the road transport ministry report had mentioned recently.
While speeding has been identified as the biggest reason behind the high number of road deaths, in the case of railways, fall from train and collision of trains with people on the tracks were responsible for most fatalities.
According to NCRB, 16,702 people died in railway accidents due to these reasons. So far as road deaths are concerned, the NCRB report claimed that incidents of “hit and run” went up in 2018. Police registered 47,028 such cases in 2018 compared to 43,727 in 2017.
“Reducing road deaths remains a big challenge and this cannot be achieved unless all states and enforcement agencies are on board. We have seen how only a few states have implemented the amended motor vehicle law. The alarming number of fatalities shows how we can’t wait any further to enforce stricter norms to save lives,” said K K Kapila of International Road Federation.
Source: Times Of India
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