1.54 lakh people killed in road crashes in India in 2019, over-speeding reason in 60% cases: Data

Also, the majority (59.6 per cent) of road accidents were due to 'over-speeding' which caused 86,241 deaths and left 2,71,581 people injured, the data stated. In 2018, Indian had reported 1,52,780 deaths in road crashes, while the figures stood at 1,50,093 in 2017, it showed.

A total of 4,37,396 road accidents were recorded across India in 2019, resulting in the death of 1,54,732 people and injuries to another 4,39,262, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. Also, the majority (59.6 percent) of road accidents were due to 'over-speeding' which caused 86,241 deaths and left 2,71,581 people injured, the data stated.

In 2018, Indian had reported 1,52,780 deaths in road crashes, while the figures stood at 1,50,093 in 2017, it showed. Altogether, in 2019, India reported 4,21,959 accidental deaths under various categories such as road crashes, forces of nature, negligent human conduct, up from 4,11,104 in 2018, and 3,96,584 in 2017, the data showed. According to the statistics, 38 percent of victims of road accidents were riders of 'two-wheelers' followed by trucks or lorries, cars, and buses which accounted for 14.6 percent, 13.7 percent, and 5.9 percent respectively. Dangerous or careless driving or overtaking contributed to 25.7 percent road accidents which led to 42,557 deaths and 1,06,555 injuries, stated the NCRB, which functions under the Union Home Ministry.

Only 2.6 percent of road accidents were due to poor weather conditions, it added. The data showed that 59.5 percent of road accidents were reported in rural areas (2,60,379 cases) and 40.5 percent in urban areas (1,77,017 cases), while 29.9 percent (1,30,943 cases out of 4,37,396 cases) were reported near residential areas.

The NCRB also covered railway and railway crossing accidents in its annually-published data. A total of 27,987 cases of railway accidents were reported during 2019 which rendered 3,569 persons injured and 24,619 dead, the data showed.

The majority (76.3 percent) of railways accident cases were reported under 'Fall from trains or collision with people on track' (21,361 out of 27,987), it added. A total of 1,788 cases of railway crossing accidents were reported the previous year which caused 1,762 deaths and left 165 persons injured. Uttar Pradesh reported the maximum such incidents (851 out of 1,788 cases) accounting for 47.5 percent of these crashes, the data showed.