High speed behind 50% fatalities in road mishaps in Haryana

Pradeep Sharma

Chandigarh, October 6

High speed was the primary reason behind nearly 50 per cent of the fatalities in road accidents in Haryana last year. Besides, 33 per cent of the fatalities among road users involved two-wheeler riders.

While overspeeding alone snuffed out 2,594 lives, of 5,021 total fatalities in road crashes, 5,823 of the 11,115 road accidents were attributed to overspeeding.

Shocking stats: 14 die in accidents daily

• 5,021 persons died in road mishaps in 2022, an average of 14 persons daily
• 4,228 passengers and 1,605 pedestrians lost their lives in road accidents
• 33% fatalities were of two-wheeler riders; 367 riders did not wear helmets
• 1,044 accidents with 420 fatalities reported in March, the bloodiest month of 2022

The time span of the fatal accidents presented a pattern, with maximum of 1,460 non-fatal and 1,004 fatal accidents (nearly 22%) reported between 6-9 pm time interval, followed by 1,057 non-fatal and 601 fatal accidents between 3-6 pm. The 3-6 am time span reported the least number of accidents — 360 non-fatal and 326 fatal accidents.

These facts were revealed in a study conducted by the Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, which is collaborating with the Haryana Government in a special road safety project.

Of the total 11,115 cases, two-wheelers were involved in 5,071 accidents, including 1,979 fatal accidents. On the other hand, cars/jeeps/ taxis were responsible for 3,401 accidents which accounted for 1,117 fatalities. Trucks were involved in 2,097 mishaps, including 1,017 fatal ones.

March was the bloodiest month with 1,044 accidents, which included 420 fatal mishaps, followed by May with a total of 1,026 accidents, including 417 fatal accidents. With 991 accidents, including 379 fatal, July came at the third spot.

The national and state highways continued to be a motorist’s nightmare as 52.46% of fatal accidents were reported here. While the national highways reported 1,718 fatal and 1,792 non-fatal accidents, the state highways reported 696 and 884 fatal and non-fatal accidents, respectively.

The study showed that 4,228 passengers were killed in road accidents. As many as 1,605 pedestrians also lost their lives in accidents. As many as 367 road accidents out of the 804 two-wheeler accidents without helmet proved fatal.

The study stressed the need for bringing together the best practices in road safety, developing systems and providing data-driven advisory for all stakeholders and general public to bring down road fatalities by 50% by 2030.