A total of 10,000 lives have been saved as road accident deaths have declined by 10 per cent since the implementation of the stringent Motor Vehicles Act, Transport Minister told the Rajya Sabha on Monday (16 March).

As reported by the Press Trust of India, there has been a 10 per cent drop in the total accident related deaths in India after the passage of the new Motor Vehicles Act. This act sharply increased the fines for various traffic related offences to disincentivise motorists from breaking rules.

"We have been able to save 10,000 lives," Gadkari was quoted as saying.

The highest reduction in road accident related deaths has been seen in Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh with 15 per cent, followed by Gujarat with 14 per cent and Uttar Pradesh with 13 per cent.

The states of Assam and Kerala though have bucked this trend and the road accident deaths in those states increased by 8 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively.