13K road accidents, nearly 7.7K deaths in Uttar Pradesh in 2025 so far

Afternoons were found to be most deadly

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh recorded more than 13,000 road accidents and nearly 7,700 deaths between January 1 and May 20 this year, with a new state-level analysis highlighting that afternoons and evenings remain the most dangerous periods for road users.

The findings are part of a time-based analytical report compiled by the Uttar Pradesh Road Safety and Awareness Cell, which used data sourced from iRAD (Integrated Road Accidents Database), eDAR (e-Detailed Accident Record), and the state's own road safety dashboard.

In 2024, Uttar Pradesh saw 46,052 road accidents, which led to 24,118 fatalities and 34,665 people getting injured. In comparison, 2023 had 44,534 accidents, with 23,652 deaths, and 31,098 injuries reported, according to official figures.

The latest analysis reveals that more than 60 per cent of all accidents occurred during the afternoon (12 pm to 6 pm) and evening (6 pm to 9 pm) hours.

The afternoon emerged as the deadliest, recording 4,352 accidents and 2,238 fatalities, according to the study that attributes the trend to a combination of "extreme heat, driver fatigue, over-speeding, and increased vehicular load" on the roads during these hours.

The evening hours accounted for 3,254 accidents and 1,945 deaths, driven by "post-work traffic congestion and decreased visibility after sunset." Morning hours, from 6 am to 12 pm, saw 2,629 accidents and 1,447 deaths. Though relatively safer, this period still bore the impact of school and office hour traffic. Late night hours, from 9 pm to 3 am, reported 2,585 accidents and 1,699 deaths.

During the late slot, though the number of accidents was lower, the severity was significantly higher due to speeding on empty roads and driver fatigue. The early morning hours between 3 am and 6 am recorded the fewest accidents at 506, but with 392 deaths, the fatality rate was alarmingly high at nearly 77 per cent.

The study noted that "sleep-deprived drivers and exhausted long-distance transport operators" were key factors behind these highly fatal crashes.

The report concludes that while afternoons and evenings remain high-risk due to volume and behaviour-related factors, night-time and early morning crashes, though fewer, were far more lethal.

In response, the state's road safety cell has recommended enforcement drives during peak-risk hours, increased deployment of police and speed detection equipment, and improved use of CCTV surveillance to track violations in real time.

The report calls for strengthening ambulance services through GPS-tracking and traffic clearance protocols.

It further suggests revisiting the timing of schools and offices to ease congestion during morning hours.

For late-night driving, the report recommends establishing rest areas, navigational aids, and round-the-clock helplines, and activating highway check-posts to assist and monitor commercial drivers.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier set the target of cutting road accident deaths by 50 per cent.

Stricter enforcement, enhanced training for commercial transporters, legal action in cases of negligence, and public awareness campaigns targeting all road users, were some of the other recommendations the authors made.