NEW DELHI: Fatalities in road accidents have declined by 5,000 during three quarters of 2017 (January to September) in comparison to the same period in 2016. This is also the steepest ever reduction in road deaths, according to the data shared by state governments with Supreme Court appointed panel on road safety.Among major states, Punjab has recorded the maximum decline in road deaths by 14.4% followed by West Bengal with 13.7%. In absolute numbers, Maharashtra has registered highest fall of 807 deaths in fatalities during this period with Gujarat following at 775.Delhi, among all Union Territories, has brought down such fatalities from 1,212 in 2016 to 1,093 this year while Chandigarh has reported 25.2% less road deaths during January-September period this year.Among major states, Bihar has recorded maximum increase in the total number of road deaths by 378 during this year followed by Odisha where such deaths have gone up by 50% - from 3,306 in 2016 to 3,495 this year.“The overall decline in deaths indicate that greater efforts by states can help reduce road fatalities. We have a huge task in hand to improve this record since every fatal crash is not just a number but there is a family behind each fatality. There is increasing awareness among agencies that road crashes are avoidable,” said a road transport ministry official.India has the highest number of road deaths across the globe and one in every 10 deaths happening is reported from India. Global road safety experts have said that the target to reduce road deaths by half across the world is not possible until India improves its record.Asim Sanyal of Consumer Voice, a non-profit entity campaigning for the improvement in Motor Vehicles law said, “We have appealed to the law makers that if the MV Amendments Bill is further deferred, we will be putting at risk precious lives of citizens. Stronger law backed by better enforcement have reduced road deaths in other countries.”The bill proposes higher fine and penalty for traffic offences, which has been facing resistance from some quarters. However, at the recent World Road Meet, transport minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ismir Jusko had supported hiking the fine to bring down casualties on the roads. “We increased fine by 10 times. Some people objected to this saying it was high. I asked them to talk to any kin of a dead and threw a challenge to roll back the fine if anyone of them said the hiked fine was more than the cost of a life. Then there was no complaints,” he had said.