NEW DELHI: Around 1.49 lakh people died in road accidents across the country in 2019, a reduction of nearly 1,600 from 2018. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 22,655 fatalities (15% of all road deaths) last year while Rajasthan, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Assam also reported a large number of deaths.All states and Union Territories barring Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Manipur have submitted their provisional accidents, fatalities and injuries data of 2019 with the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety. The panel has been compiling quarterly details to monitor the performance of states in curbing fatalities.According to the provisional data, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttarakhand saw the decade’s highest year-on-year decline in fatalities in 2019. While Delhi reported 227 fewer deaths in 2019 as compared to 2018, Gujarat and Maharashtra registered 696 fewer fatalities. Karnataka reported 673 fewer road deaths followed by Uttarakhand (181).Delhi with 1,433 deaths and Tamil Nadu with 10,317 reported the lowest death tolls in the last decade, a comparative analysis of the details show.The data also indicates the impact of the amended Motor Vehicles Act , which came into force from September 1, on road deaths.The details shared by states and UTs show that between January and September last year, 300 more people had died as compared to the same period in 2018. However, during the last three months (October to December), there were nearly 1,900 fewer deaths and 5,000 fewer injuries in road accidents as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, which reversed the trend of increase in fatalities.“If the earlier trend had continued after September, we might have ended up registering more fatalities than 2018. So, now with evidence that indicate positive impact of the MV Act, we expect all states to implement the law fully,” said an official who did not wish to be named.At the recently held global ministerial road safety meeting in Stockholm, UN-affiliated organisations, including World Health Organisation, had lauded changes in the MV Act as a right step to make Indian roads safer.Data showed that Tamil Nadu led the list of states showing decline in fatalities. The southern state has been reducing number of fatalities since 2016. In four years, it reported nearly 39% reduction in fatalities. “This shows how other states can do it by taking necessary measures,” road transport minister Nitin Gadkari told TOI. Tamil Nadu had reported 17,218 fatalities in 2015, which came down to 10,525 last year.UP, which has the largest share of fatalities, saw 399 more deaths in 2019, which was the slowest ever increase in the past decade.