Road crashes claimed 18 lives every hour across India in 2021: Government data

Road crashes claimed over 1.55 lakh lives across India in 2021 - making it an average of 426 daily lives or 18 lives every single hour. This is the highest death figures recorded in any calendar year so far, according to official government data. Besides, 3.71 lakh people were also injured in 4.03 lakh 'road accidents' across the country last year, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data under the 'Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India – 2021' head revealed.

The number of deaths due to road crashes reached its highest last year while the number of road accidents and people injured has come down when compared to previous years, the NCRB data revealed. The death rate per thousand vehicles in 2021 at 0.53% was higher than that in 2020 at 0.45% and in 2019 at 0.52% but lower than 2018 (0.56%) and 2017 (0.59%), the data showed.

The data for 2020 showed that, there were 3.54 lakh road accidents that took place in the country, in which 1.33 lakh people had died while another 3.35 lakh were injured, as per the data. The year 2019 saw some 4.37 lakh road accidents in which 1.54 lakh people had died while another 4.39 lakh were injured, as per the data.

In the year 2018, the country logged 4.45 lakh road accidents in which 1.52 lakh people lost their lives while another 4.46 lakh were injured. In 2017, the figures stood at 4.45 lakh accidents, 1.50 lakh deaths and 4.56 lakh injuries.

While in most states, road accidents have caused more injuries than deaths, but in Mizoram, Punjab, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh they caused more deaths compared to persons injured, as per the NCRB annual report.

Another point revealed in the NCRB data for 2021 was that public transport, like buses, were safer than private modes of conveyance, like motorcycles.

(with inputs from PTI)