Road accidents in the Capital are on the decline but fatal accidents are at their worst compared to the last five years, as per data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
According to the Road Accidents in India 2018 report, the Capital has been ranked first in the total number of road fatalities when compared to other Indian cities.
A total of 6,515 accidents were reported in the city out of which 1,657 were fatal. A total of 1,690 people died in road accidents in 2018 — or five every day.
Straight roads
The number of hit-and-run accidents and vehicle-to-pedestrian accidents have also increased.
The report further pointed out that the maximum number of road accidents occurred on straight roads.
After a steady decline for three years — from 2015 to 2017 — last year recorded the maximum number of road accident deaths in Delhi compared to other Indian cities. The city recorded its highest road fatalities since 2014, when 1,671 people lost their lives on the streets.
Chennai ranked first in terms of the total number of road accidents (7,580) as well as the number of persons injured in these accidents (7,438).
In Delhi, both the total number of fatal accidents and the number of people who lost their lives due to such accidents registered a five-year high.
However, the total number of accidents and the number of persons injured recorded a five-year low.
“Chennai ranks first followed by Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal and Indore in terms of accidents in 2018. While in terms of those killed in 2018, Delhi ranks first followed by Chennai Kanpur, Jaipur and Bengluru,” the report stated.
Bengaluru recorded 4,611 road accidents, Bhopal 3,508 and Indore 3,434.
In terms of the total number of people killed in road accidents, after Delhi, Chennai recorded 1,260 deaths, Kanpur 698, Jaipur 692 and Bengaluru 686 deaths, according to the report.
Data digest
Out of the 6,515 road accidents reported in Delhi in 2018, the maximum were vehicle-to-vehicle collisions: 3,993 incidents, or 61% of total accidents reported.
Such collisions claimed 1,033 lives, in addition to injuring 3,694 persons.
There were 2,127 (or over 32%) incidents of hit-and-run in which 688 people were killed and 1,820 were injured. A total of 1,497 road accidents (or close to 23% of total accidents) were vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions in which 420 people died and 1,293 were injured.
The maximum number of road accidents (3,688) occurred on straight roads.
In 2017, a total of 6,673 accidents were recorded in Delhi, according to a similar MoRTH report released last year. There were 2,100 hit-and-run cases recorded in which 604 people were killed and 1,611 were injured.
