NEW DELHI: Data from about 130 crashes involving different vehicles on Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of NH-8 has indicated speeding, overloading and improper driving as some of the main reasons behind highways crashes.The data and trends are based on an ongoing crash investigation project by NATRiP in association with IIT-Delhi. This is part of a pilot project undertaken by the road transport ministry to provide cashless treatment to crash victims to reduce fatalities.NATRiP officials said that though over 600 crashes were reported, they have collected in-depth data of 134 motor vehicle accidents. NATRiP is the government’s apex agency for vehicle research and testing.Almost 45% of the crashes investigated were due to tailgating or when vehicles follow each other too closely. Among other reasons identified speeding caused 28 accidents, overloading 16 and improper driving another 15 mishaps. The other key causative factors were lane change, wrong turn, vehicle defect and driver fatigue."The trend of crashes in most of NHs with divided carriageway would be same. If we have a stringent enforcement on speeding and overloading, crashes can be reduced significantly. Once more and more data from similar projects emerges, it will help us to formulate policies," a road transport ministry official said.The crash data analysis shows that in most of the accidents heavy vehicle and four-wheelers were involved. Similarly, two-wheelers, buses and tractors had a good share in the total number of accidents.The NATRiP-IIT(Delhi) analysis showed that while 10% of crashes were fatal in nature, 24% of them reported grievous injuries. In another 29%, the injuries were minor in nature.