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NEW DELHI: Road deaths due to negligence — rash, careless, or irresponsible driving — claimed 495 lives daily in 2024, as per the latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It said that nearly 1.81 lakh lives were lost in such accidents, an increase of nearly 4.4% over the previous year.The number of fatalities in 2024 is also higher than the figure the road transport ministry had shared with Parliament, which was 1.77 lakh. The ministry is yet to publish its report on Road Accidents in India. NCRB will also separately publish a detailed report of the accidental deaths in 2024.As per NCRB (under home ministry), Uttar Pradesh reported maximum road deaths in 2024 due to negligence (25,158), followed by Tamil Nadu (18,676), Karnataka (16,232), Madhya Pradesh (15,440) and Maharashtra (15,249). All these states reported more road fatalities compared with 2023, indicating that Indian roads have become more unsafe.NCRB report also shows that the number of people killed in hit-and-run cases increased from 55,334 in 2023 to 56,974 in 2024, with UP topping the list with 19,641 such fatalities, followed by MP (10,130) and Bihar (4,949). Among million-plus cities, Delhi reported a maximum of 949 hit-and-run deaths, followed by Bengaluru (773) and Jaipur (744). India tops the list among nations in road deaths with a share of more than 12% of the all such fatalities across the globe. Despite govt’s claims and efforts, the fatalities have not fallen in the recent years and this remains a major challenge.
