Early gains fade as Delhi records rise in road accident deaths in 2025

The Delhi Traffic Police began last year with a relatively strong record, managing to contain road fatalities during the first nine months of the calendar year. However, this early improvement did not sustain itself, and the situation worsened towards the end of 2025.

Data shows that between January and September 2025, Delhi recorded a 2.5% decline in road accident fatalities compared to the same period in 2024. Deaths fell from 1,178 to 1,149, while fatal crashes dipped by 2.9%. These figures indicated a positive trend in reducing high-severity accidents across the capital during this period.

Year-end reversal

By December, however, the overall picture changed. Road accident fatalities in Delhi rose by 4.2% in 2025 compared to the previous year. Official data shows that 1,617 people died in 1,578 fatal accidents during 2025, up from 1,551 deaths in 1,504 fatal accidents in 2024.

Injuries also increased, with 5,314 people injured in traffic accidents in 2025, a 2% rise from the 5,224 injuries recorded the year before. At the same time, non-injury accidents declined sharply from 84 cases in 2024 to 61 in 2025, while simple accidents remained largely unchanged at 4,050 cases, compared to 4,069 the previous year.

What caused the increase

Police have identified excessive speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants as the primary contributors to serious road accidents. Other factors include distracted driving, poor compliance with traffic rules and lapses in basic road safety awareness.

One of the most concerning trends was a sharp rise in “triple riding” on two-wheelers, which increased by 63%, from 27,734 cases in 2024 to 45,072 in 2025.

Penalties linked to dangerous road behaviour also rose significantly. Drink-driving cases increased by nearly 9%, with 22,091 challans issued in 2025 compared to 20,361 in 2024. Cases of dangerous driving went up by 17%, from 21,340 to 24,952.

Responding to the data, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Dinesh Gupta said the department had rolled out a range of measures to curb accidents. These include stricter enforcement of traffic rules, installation of clearer road signage and coordination with civic agencies to improve street lighting and traffic engineering to enhance safety for all road users.

Initial months show improvement in 2025

Despite the year-end spike, traffic police data indicates that accident figures remained relatively low on a month-by-month basis for much of the year. During the monsoon period from May to July 15, total accidents rose marginally, but fatal accidents declined.

Between May 1 and July 15, 2025, Delhi recorded 1,160 accidents, 21 more than the 1,128 reported during the same period in 2024. Injuries increased from 1,046 to 1,128, a rise of 7.1%. However, fatal accidents fell from 311 in 2024 to 271 in 2025 during this period.

Non-injury accidents also dropped from 18 cases in 2024 to 10 in 2025, suggesting that while fewer minor accidents occurred, the incidents that did take place were more severe.

According to traffic police personnel, the month-by-month variation was largely driven by the November–December period, when fog and worsening road conditions played a major role. “There was a rise in the number of waterlogging incidents due to a lot of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) maintenance work, which essentially led to a rise in incidents. On the other hand, due to a significant amount of motorists driving against the traffic, the incidents only piled up,” a traffic official said.

Joint Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Kime Kaming attributed the rise in accidents to poor road conditions in the capital. “We have been attempting to put pressure on the local authorities and have asked them to improve the civic infrastructure. However, there has been no response from them. Furthermore, a majority of these accidents are caused by waterlogging, with most of these instances involving motorcyclists and pedestrians,” Kaming told Patriot.

Crash analysis and enforcement measures

Officials said the early gains in 2025 were largely driven by the work of the Traffic Police’s Crash Research Cell, which analyses accident patterns to identify blackspots across the city. Based on these findings, the Engineering Cell recommends corrective steps such as improved road design, better signage and speed-calming measures.

The department has also renamed its annual Accident Report as the Crash Report to underline that road deaths are preventable rather than inevitable. “This shift in thinking has made interventions more targeted,” a senior traffic police official said.

So far, 143 high-risk locations have been identified for road redesign, along with 30 school and hospital zones where new pedestrian crossings and speed breakers are being planned. In addition, around 3,600 police personnel have been trained in modern traffic management and crash prevention techniques in collaboration with road safety experts.

Delhi’s accidents in numbers

The Delhi Statistical Handbook 2025, released on January 8, shows that the national capital recorded more road accident deaths in 2024 than in any of the previous four years. This peak came despite a decline in the total number of accidents compared to 2023, pointing to an increase in the severity of crashes.

Official figures show that 1,551 people died in road accidents in 2024, the highest toll between 2020 and 2024. Total accidents dipped slightly to 5,573 in 2024, down from 5,715 in 2023.

A longer-term view shows a steady rise in accidents since 2020, when 4,178 incidents were reported. This rose to 4,720 in 2021 and 5,560 in 2022, peaked in 2023 and eased marginally the following year.

Also Read: Delhi: homeless deaths decline, but winter toll remains grim

Fatalities followed a similar upward trend. Deaths increased from 1,196 in 2020 to 1,239 in 2021 and 1,461 in 2022. Although the number dipped slightly to 1,457 in 2023, it rose again to 1,551 in 2024.

Injuries climbed from 3,446 in 2020 to 3,968 in 2021 and 4,713 in 2022, before peaking at 4,892 in 2023. In 2024, injuries declined to 4,718, reflecting fewer accidents but deadlier outcomes. Data on vehicles involved followed the same pattern, with 5,573 vehicles involved in accidents in 2024, up from 4,178 in 2020.

According to officials, dense fog and extremely low visibility in December played a key role in pushing up accident numbers towards the end of 2025.