NEW DELHI, DHNS: The use of mobile phones while driving claimed 3,172 lives and injured 7,830 people last year, says the latest road accident data released by the government.
As per the India Accidents Report, 2017 compiled by Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, a total of 8,526 accidents occurred due to the use of the phone while driving.
Of the total 4.64 lakh road accidents in 2017, a total of 1.47 lakh people were killed and 4.7 lakh injured.
Over-speeding was the biggest cause for road accidents causing 70.4 % of the total accidents, the report said.
The 2017 data shows some improvement in terms of road accidents as compared to 2016. The number of road accidents was down by 3.3% and the number of injuries by 4.8% in 2017 from the previous year.
The number of deaths in 2017 was less by 1.9% compared to 2016. In 2016, a total 1,51 lakh persons died from a total of 4.81 lakh accidents.
"The absolute number of fatalities from road accidents continues to be high, creating a big challenge," says Y S Malik, secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
30.4% of total road accidents took place on national highways, while 34% of all road accidents involved two-wheelers.
People between 18 and 45 years of age are the major victims of road accidents, who form 72.15 % of total victims in 2017.
While Tamil Nadu tops the maximum number of road accidents for 2017 in the country, Karnataka is on third.
Tamil Nadu stands first with 65,562 road accidents, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 53,339 and Karnataka at 42,542.
However, last year, road accidents in Karnataka were slightly less compared to 2016. In 2016, a total of 44,403 accidents had taken place in Karnataka.
(Published 08 October 2018, 17:31 IST)
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