1.68 lakh people died in 4.61 lakh road accidents in 2022: Road Ministry report

A total of 4,61,312 road accidents occurred in 2021, which claimed 1,68,491 lives, while 4,43,366 people were injured, according to a new report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). The report titled 'Road accidents in India -- 2022' said this marks an 11.9 per cent year-on-year rise in accidents and a 9.4 per cent increase in fatalities. There was a 15.3 per cent surge in the number of people getting injured in 2022.

As per the report, during 2022, a total of 4,61,312 accidents were recorded in the country, of which, 1,51,997 (32.9 per cent ) took place on the national highways (NH), including expressways, 1,06,682 (23.1 per cent ) on state highways (SH) and the remaining 2,02,633 (43.9 per cent) on other roads.

"Out of the total of 1,68,491 fatalities reported in 2022, 61,038 (36.2 per cent) were on national highways, 41,012 (24.3 per cent) were on state highways and 66,441 (39.4 per cent) were on other roads," it added.

The annual report is based on the data/information received from police departments of states/UTs on a calendar year basis in standardised formats as provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project.