To reduce road accidents and the deaths they cause, it is necessary to take a harder look at state- and city-wise patterns. Here are some facts that emerge from data collected by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
1. Drivers of heavy vehicles die the most
Heavy vehicles cause 22.7% of the accidents in India, but 28.8% of the deaths that result from motor vehicle mishaps.
2. The worst time: 3 pm to 6 pm
The largest number of accidents occur between 3 pm and 6 pm. There are fewer accidents in the night and early morning because there are fewer vehicles on the road.
3. The number one killer on roads is speed
Bad roads cause only 1.4% of deaths in motor accidents. Most deaths are caused because of the driver, not the road. And it's not so much alcohol or drugs: it's mostly speed. Errors by drivers cause 78.7% of all accidents, and 58% of those drivers caused accidents because they were speeding. Only 6.2% of drivers who caused accidents were under the influence of liquor. In 20.4% of the accidents, drivers had overcrowded or overloaded their vehicle.
4. Development = More accidents
You are 6.5 times more likely to find yourself in a road accident in Goa than in Delhi. In 2012, Kerala, the second-most accident-prone state, recorded less than half the number of accidents per 100,000 of the population.
Nagaland and then Lakshwadeep are the least accident-prone, followed by Bihar (though you may not believe that if you've been to Patna). Clearly, this figure is largely a reflection of how motorised and urbanised a state is.
This map shows that less-developed regions see fewer accidents per 100,000 of the population.
5. Tamil Nadu kills the most
If the number of deaths caused by road accidents is divided by every 100,000 people in its population, Goa is only the sixth-worst state. In the coastal state, 16.5 people died in road accidents for every 100,000 people in 2012. The worst killer is Tamil Nadu (23.8), followed by Andhra Pradesh (17.5). Lakshadweep did not report any person killed in a road accident during 2012, while Nagaland reported 2.5 persons killed per lakh population.
The discrepancy in Goa's ranking in the number of deaths perhaps shows that Goa's accidents are smaller, or that the police are better at recording minor accidents, or that post-accident medical care is better, or all of these.
6. More vehicles = more accidents
A state with more vehicles will obviously have more accidents – regardless of size of population. Considering the number accidents per 10,000 vehicles, the worst state is Sikkim, with 105 accidents. There's a huge distance between Sikkim and the second-worst state in this metric: Jammu and Kashmir. Another hill state that fares badly is Himachal Pradesh, at number 7.
However, Uttarakhand has done well in reducing accidents. With just 15.1 road accidents per 10,000 vehicles, it's the ninth-least accident-prone state using this metric.
7. Do UP, Bihar and Bengal have more severe accidents than the south?
Once again, it is the number of deaths that worry us more than merely the number of accidents. Once again, Sikkim takes the lead, and Himachal Pradesh is the fourth-worst. The surprise here is Bihar (second worst), followed by West Bengal, Himachal, and Uttar Pradesh. This perhaps indicates that the severity of accidents is higher in UP and Bihar, even if the number of accidents per 100,000 population is moderate, compared to the southern states.
8. For every 100 accidents in Punjab, there are 76 deaths
The conclusion reached above is borne out by looking at the severity of accidents. The simple way of doing this is to look at how many deaths are caused for every 100 accidents. The national average is 28.2. Uttar Pradesh saw 53.9 people die for every 100 accidents in 2012, West Bengal 43.9, and Bihar 49. At 133.3, the worst was Nagaland, which is otherwise the second-best performer in other metrics.
The worst performer after Nagaland is Punjab (76 deaths for every 100 accidents). While Uttarakhand reported the least number of accidents per 10,000 vehicles amongst the hill states, the casualty rate per 100 accidents is quite high at 57.3. That is the nature of roads going up and down the hills: once vehicles collide, it is very likely to be a severe accident. Yet, a comparison of this metric with others could also reflect that some states register police cases of non-severe accidents more easily than others. States that discourage reporting accident cases unless someone has died could appear to have a high severity rate. That could well be the case with Punjab.
9. When hit by an accident, you are most likely to survive in Mumbai, least likely in Amritsar
Here are the cities where the accident severity (number of deaths per 100 accidents) is higher than the national average of 28.2. Note that amongst the 18 worst cities, not one is in the south, and seven are in Uttar Pradesh.
Among the six biggest metros, Delhi is the worst (26.9) followed by Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and then Mumbai. With only two deaths for every 100 accidents, Mumbai is the city you are least likely to die in if you're hit by an accident. The worst two cities – Amritsar followed by Ludhiana – are both in Punjab. Once again, this could partly be a reflection of how many non-severe road accidents are reported, as the metric here is the fatalities caused by every 100 accidents.
10. Rural is worse than urban
While you would expect crowded urban areas with a greater concentration of motor vehicles to take the lion's share of accidents, rural India is actually worse than urban India. In 2012, 54.3% of accidents occurred in rural areas as compared to 45.7% in urban India. Rural areas had more fatalities (61.6%) than urban areas (38.4%). The availability of emergency medical attention clearly makes a huge difference in saving lives, and the slightly higher number of accidents is perhaps on account of speeding on highways passing through rural areas.
11. Those bikers without helmets...
Drive safely!
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1. Drivers of heavy vehicles die the most
Heavy vehicles cause 22.7% of the accidents in India, but 28.8% of the deaths that result from motor vehicle mishaps.
2. The worst time: 3 pm to 6 pm
The largest number of accidents occur between 3 pm and 6 pm. There are fewer accidents in the night and early morning because there are fewer vehicles on the road.
3. The number one killer on roads is speed
Bad roads cause only 1.4% of deaths in motor accidents. Most deaths are caused because of the driver, not the road. And it's not so much alcohol or drugs: it's mostly speed. Errors by drivers cause 78.7% of all accidents, and 58% of those drivers caused accidents because they were speeding. Only 6.2% of drivers who caused accidents were under the influence of liquor. In 20.4% of the accidents, drivers had overcrowded or overloaded their vehicle.
4. Development = More accidents
You are 6.5 times more likely to find yourself in a road accident in Goa than in Delhi. In 2012, Kerala, the second-most accident-prone state, recorded less than half the number of accidents per 100,000 of the population.
Nagaland and then Lakshwadeep are the least accident-prone, followed by Bihar (though you may not believe that if you've been to Patna). Clearly, this figure is largely a reflection of how motorised and urbanised a state is.
This map shows that less-developed regions see fewer accidents per 100,000 of the population.
5. Tamil Nadu kills the most
If the number of deaths caused by road accidents is divided by every 100,000 people in its population, Goa is only the sixth-worst state. In the coastal state, 16.5 people died in road accidents for every 100,000 people in 2012. The worst killer is Tamil Nadu (23.8), followed by Andhra Pradesh (17.5). Lakshadweep did not report any person killed in a road accident during 2012, while Nagaland reported 2.5 persons killed per lakh population.
The discrepancy in Goa's ranking in the number of deaths perhaps shows that Goa's accidents are smaller, or that the police are better at recording minor accidents, or that post-accident medical care is better, or all of these.
6. More vehicles = more accidents
A state with more vehicles will obviously have more accidents – regardless of size of population. Considering the number accidents per 10,000 vehicles, the worst state is Sikkim, with 105 accidents. There's a huge distance between Sikkim and the second-worst state in this metric: Jammu and Kashmir. Another hill state that fares badly is Himachal Pradesh, at number 7.
However, Uttarakhand has done well in reducing accidents. With just 15.1 road accidents per 10,000 vehicles, it's the ninth-least accident-prone state using this metric.
7. Do UP, Bihar and Bengal have more severe accidents than the south?
Once again, it is the number of deaths that worry us more than merely the number of accidents. Once again, Sikkim takes the lead, and Himachal Pradesh is the fourth-worst. The surprise here is Bihar (second worst), followed by West Bengal, Himachal, and Uttar Pradesh. This perhaps indicates that the severity of accidents is higher in UP and Bihar, even if the number of accidents per 100,000 population is moderate, compared to the southern states.
8. For every 100 accidents in Punjab, there are 76 deaths
The conclusion reached above is borne out by looking at the severity of accidents. The simple way of doing this is to look at how many deaths are caused for every 100 accidents. The national average is 28.2. Uttar Pradesh saw 53.9 people die for every 100 accidents in 2012, West Bengal 43.9, and Bihar 49. At 133.3, the worst was Nagaland, which is otherwise the second-best performer in other metrics.
The worst performer after Nagaland is Punjab (76 deaths for every 100 accidents). While Uttarakhand reported the least number of accidents per 10,000 vehicles amongst the hill states, the casualty rate per 100 accidents is quite high at 57.3. That is the nature of roads going up and down the hills: once vehicles collide, it is very likely to be a severe accident. Yet, a comparison of this metric with others could also reflect that some states register police cases of non-severe accidents more easily than others. States that discourage reporting accident cases unless someone has died could appear to have a high severity rate. That could well be the case with Punjab.
9. When hit by an accident, you are most likely to survive in Mumbai, least likely in Amritsar
Here are the cities where the accident severity (number of deaths per 100 accidents) is higher than the national average of 28.2. Note that amongst the 18 worst cities, not one is in the south, and seven are in Uttar Pradesh.
Among the six biggest metros, Delhi is the worst (26.9) followed by Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and then Mumbai. With only two deaths for every 100 accidents, Mumbai is the city you are least likely to die in if you're hit by an accident. The worst two cities – Amritsar followed by Ludhiana – are both in Punjab. Once again, this could partly be a reflection of how many non-severe road accidents are reported, as the metric here is the fatalities caused by every 100 accidents.
10. Rural is worse than urban
While you would expect crowded urban areas with a greater concentration of motor vehicles to take the lion's share of accidents, rural India is actually worse than urban India. In 2012, 54.3% of accidents occurred in rural areas as compared to 45.7% in urban India. Rural areas had more fatalities (61.6%) than urban areas (38.4%). The availability of emergency medical attention clearly makes a huge difference in saving lives, and the slightly higher number of accidents is perhaps on account of speeding on highways passing through rural areas.
11. Those bikers without helmets...
Two-wheelers cause more accidents than any other kind of vehicle.
Drive safely!
