READ ALSO:

Road accidents, not terrorists, kill most paramilitary troops

Read this story in Hindi:

हर घंटे 16 मौतें, सड़क हादसों के लिहाज से घातक रहा 2014

NEW DELHI: Indian roads were at their deadliest in 2014 claiming more than 16 lives every hour on average. Over 1.41 lakh people died in crashes, 3% more than the number of fatalities in 2013.The numbers of crashes and of people left injured were also the highest levels since the recording of such data started in India—at 4.5 lakh and 4.8 lakh respectively.According to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), speeding and dangerous driving were the biggest reasons for road fatalities. Accidents involving two-wheelers and trucks & lorries accounted for nearly half of the lives lost in road crashes.While 13,787 two-wheeler drivers were killed in crashes, 23,529 other people were killed in accidents involving these vehicles, while close to 1.4 lakh people were left injured in them.Over-speeding accounted for about 1.7 lakh crashes and nearly 49,000 deaths and dangerous/careless driving or overtaking claimed another 42,000-plus lives in 1.4 lakh crashes.The top five states – Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan – accounted for over 40% of the fatalities. UP topped the list with 16,284 deaths, but Tamil Nadu with over 15,000 lives lost was much worse given its relatively smaller size.Among 53 mega cities, Delhi registered the highest number of fatalities at 2,199 and Chennai recorded 1,046 such deaths. Bhopal and Jaipur ranked third and fourth with the city roads claiming 1,015 and 844 lives respectively.Learning from global practices, this is for the first time crashes and deaths have been analyzed under 13 categories – both state-wise and city-wise - such as the causes of crashes, place of occurrence and culpability.For example, the report notes how about one in six road crashes was reported at a place near a residential area both in rural and urban zones. It also records that 5.3% of road crashes were reported at places near schools, colleges or other educational institutions.“It’s interesting that more detailed data is included in the report. But unless police investigations are scientifically carried out, the collation and evaluation of data has no relevance,” said road safety expert Rohit Baluja. He added that policy or action plans have to be based on the real reason.The report also for the first time has recorded fatalities on expressways. Telangana reported the largest number of such deaths - 279 out of a total 1,802 fatalities or about 15.5% of all lives lost on roads. Haryana (13.4%), UP (12.9%), Rajasthan (12.3%) and West Bengal (11.4%) were the other big contributors to deaths on expressways.