Delhi sees decline in road deaths

People suffering injuries also declined marginally

There has been a decline in the number of road accidents and fatalities in the national capital in the past one year, according to the figures compiled by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway.

As many as 8,085 road accidents took place in Delhi in 2015 causing 1,622 fatalities, a decline from 1,671 deaths due to 8,623 accidents that had happened in 2014.
While 8,258 people were injured in road accidents in 2015, about 8,283 people suffered injuries in 2014.

The ministry revealed that there has been an increase of 4.6 per cent in road accident fatalities across country, from 1,39,671 in 2014 to 1,46,133 in 2015.

In December last year, MPs wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring to his notice the increasing number of accidents and fatalities across the country and expressing support for a comprehensive road safety legislation.

“We are writing to you to draw your attention to the epidemic of the increasing road accidents in India. Just last year over 1.41 lakh people were killed and 4.8 lakh people were severely injured in road accidents across India. Not only do these accidents cause an irreplaceable loss of human life, but are also responsible for huge economic drain for our country. According to the erstwhile Planning Commission of India, over three per cent of India's GDP is lost to road accidents annually, amounting to Rs 3.8 lakh crores in 2014," the letter had said.

“As elected representatives it is our duty to ensure that the safety and welfare of our citizens is not compromised. We, therefore, appeal to you to accord high priority to this issue and ensure the introduction of a strong and robust road safety legislation at the earliest,” it added.

Saji Cherian, Director, Operations of SaveLIFE Foundation, working for the cause, said: “Given the fact that India has the highest road accident fatalities globally​,​ there is an urgent need for a strong legislation that protects all classes of road users. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has rightly noted that a legislation which addresses road safety issues should be introduced at the earliest and since the issue has received bipartisan political support, there should not be any further delay.”