Most accidents happen on straight roads: Centre

A total of 2,78,218 accidents occurred on straight roads, claiming 1,02,623 lives

Straight roads accounted for the highest number of road accidents, and vehicles less than five years old were involved in the highest number of mishaps in the country in 2021.

As per the Road accidents in India — 2021’ report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), a total of 2,78,218 accidents, which is 67.5 per cent of the total road mishaps in the country in 2021, occurred on straight roads, claiming 1,02,623 lives. On curved roads, a total of 49,518 mishaps happened (3.8 per cent), causing 19,120 deaths.

A total of 3,625 accidents happened due to potholes on roads, in which 1,481 persons died and 3,103 were injured, last year.

Accidents on curved roads, potholed roads and steep grades together accounted for only 13.9 per cent of the total road accidents. Vehicle speed tends to be high on straight roads in open areas which corroborates the high percentage of road accidents, persons killed and injured (varying in the range of 64-65 per cent) on these roads. The data, however, suggests that road safety measures must not be ignored in even straight road stretches which are normally considered to be less risky.

The categories of the curved road, culvert, potholes and ongoing road works/ works under construction etc. need to be the focus of attention for the engineers maintaining these roads at the national/state and local levels with safety signage installed at the appropriate spots, the report said.

In 2021, a total of 1,26,704 road accidents happened involving vehicles less than 5 years old and in which 46,543 died.

Vehicles with age between 5 and 10 years accounted for more than 58 per cent of accidents (1.16 lakh) and 56 per cent of deaths (41,168 deaths) during 2021. Vehicles with 10-15 years of age accounted for 13 per cent of accidents, vehicles over 15 years accounted for 11.1 per cent of total accidents and vehicles with age not known accounted for another 17 per cent of the total accidents in 2021, the report said.

A total of 1,997 road accidents occurred in 2021 due to the use of mobile phones while driving. Of these road accidents, as many as 1,040 people lost their lives,

A total of 1,53,972 persons lost their lives and 3,84,448 people were injured in road accidents in 2021, the government said.