Accidents claim 1.78 lakh lives every year, majority of victims aged 18-34

People do not fear the law and many drive two-wheelers without helmets and some jump the red signal, says Union Minister Niting Gadkari in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: As many as 1.78 lakh people are killed in road accidents annually in the country and 60 per cent of the victims are in the age group of 18-34 years, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

He lamented that people do not fear the law and many drive two-wheelers without helmets and some jump the red signal. “One unfortunate fact is that of the 1.78 lakh people dying in road accidents, 60 per cent are in the age group of 18 to 34 years. Still there is no fear of law. Some do not wear helmets, some jump red signal,” he said during the Question Hour, adding that it was a “strange” situation.

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Responding to supplementaries, he said while Uttar Pradesh leads in deaths due to road accidents, in cities, Delhi tops the chart in such deaths. In Uttar Pradesh, over 23,000 people or 13.7 per cent of the total deaths are due to road accidents followed by Tamil Nadu with over 18,000 (10.6 per cent) deaths.

In Maharashtra, the figure stands at over 15,000 or nine per cent of the total deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh with over 13,000 (eight per cent) deaths. In cities, Delhi leads the chart with over 1400 deaths, followed by Bengaluru with 915 deaths. Jaipur registers 850 deaths due to road accidents.