THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)
(a) The Ministry analyses the road accidents based on the data received from the Police Department of all State/UTs. The latest data of road accidents published by the Ministry are for the calendar year 2018. The number of road accidents, persons killed and persons injured in road accidents in India during the period from 2016 to 2018 are as under:-
Years Total Number of Road Accidents (in numbers) Total Number of Persons Killed (in numbers) Total Number of Persons Injured (in numbers)
2016 4,80,652 1,50,785 4,94,624
2017 4,64,910 1,47,913 4,70,975
2018 4,67,044 1,51,417 4,69,418
The State-UTs wise of road accidents, persons killed and persons injured in road accidents for the last three years are at Annexure – I to III. Ministry does not maintain data of number of persons rendered handicapped due to Road Accidents.
(b) Road Accidents are multi-causal and are the result of interplay of various factors which can broadly be categorized into human error, Road condition/environment and vehicular condition.
(c) As per Global Status report on Road Safety 2018 of World Health Organisation (WHO), there are eight priority UN vehicle Safety Standards i.e. (i) frontal impact protection; (ii) side impact protection; (iii) Electronic stability control; (iv) Pedestrian front protection; (v) Seat-belts; (vi) Seat-belt anchorages; (vii) child restraints; and (viii) Motorcycle anti-lock braking systems. All these standards have been adopted by India.
(d) The Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 recently passed by the Parliament focuses on road safety and includes, inter-alia, stiff hike in penalties for traffic violations and electronic monitoring of the same, enhanced penalties for juvenile driving, cashless treatment during the golden hour, computerization/automation of vehicle fitness and driving, tests, recall of defective vehicles, streamlining the third party insurance and payment of increased compensation for hit and run cases etc. The penalty for offences has also been substantially increased by Motor vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. The Amendment also provides for setting up of a National Road Safety Board. The Amendment has strengthened the Law to improve the road Safety scenario and reduce loss of lives. Ministry has notified fitment of Speed Limiting devices on all transport vehicles.
The Ministry issues regulations to improve vehicle safety standards, undertakes site specific interventions to address black spots, and also mobilises various activities to promote road safety such as road safety advocacy and awareness programmes.
(e) The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides the framework for third party insurance and compensation for road accidents. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 as passed by the Parliament recently, provides for time bound claim settlement to the victims of the road accidents. The provisions are contained in section 51 to section 57 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019.
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