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NEW DELHI: Potholes claimed 2,161 lives in 2023, an increase of around 16.4% from the previous year, according to the latest report of the road transport ministry. Deaths caused due to wrong side driving and lane indiscipline also increased, to 9,432 in 2023 from 9,094 in the previous year.The road transport ministry released the report “Road Accidents in India 2023” on Thursday, barely days before the Aug-end deadline set by the Supreme Court to make it public. As per the report, nearly 1.73 lakh lives were lost on Indian roads in 2023, which meant one death every three minutes. While road deaths increased by around 2.6% compared to 2022, the number of persons injured went up by 4.4% to a little over 4.6 lakh.Speeding remained the main cause of fatalities, accounting for 68% of all deaths, followed by wrong side driving and lane indiscipline (5.5%). In pothole deaths, Uttar Pradesh recorded over half of the fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh.The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the home ministry, which also brings out annual accident reports, has not yet published the report for 2023.As per the road ministry report, young adults in the age group of 18-45 years accounted for nearly two-thirds of fatalities in 2023. Two-wheeler riders accounted for around 45% of deaths (77,539), followed by pedestrians (35,221) and car/taxi occupants (21,496), on different categories of roads.The report also highlighted that non-use of helmets by two-wheeler riders claimed 54,568 lives, while non-use of seatbelts resulted in 16,025 car fatalities.Among the types of collision, tailgating, or hit from the back, accounted for a maximum 36,804 deaths (21%), followed by 31,209 fatalities due to hit and run (18%). Head-on collisions were the reason for 28,898 fatalities (nearly 17%).According to the report, national highways, which comprise barely 2% of the country’s entire road network, witnessed 31.2% of all road crashes and 36.5% of fatalities. State highways accounted for 22% of accidents and 22.8% deaths.
