According to a report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, 16,397 people died in traffic accidents in 2021 as a result of not using a seatbelt, of which 8,438 were drivers and the rest 7,959 were passengers (MoRTH).
According to the report “Road Accidents in India — 2021,” a total of 46,593 people—32,877 drivers and 13,716 passengers—were killed in road accidents as a result of not wearing a helmet.
In all, 4,12,432 road accidents occurred in 2021, resulting in 1,53,972 fatalities and 3,84,448 injuries.
The report states that in 2021, not wearing a seat belt or a helmet led to the injuries of 39,231 people and 93,763 people, respectively.
Accidents are not caused by not wearing safety equipment like a seat belt and a helmet, but they can be prevented by doing so in the event of a car collision.
Except for a few exceptions, all drivers of two-wheelers must wear a helmet.
Despite the fact that violating Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) can result in a punishment of Rs 1,000, most people are either unaware of this rule or choose to ignore it.
According to the report, Uttar Pradesh maintained its top spot in terms of fatal road accidents at the national level, accounting for 15.2 per cent of all fatalities, followed by Tamil Nadu (9.4 per cent), Maharashtra (7.3 per cent), and Rajasthan (6.8 per cent).
The report said drunken driving, driving on wrong side, jumping red light and use of mobile phone together accounted for about 8.2 per cent of total accidents and 9.35 per cent of fatalities on national highways.
The data shpw that 67.5 percent of incidents happened on straight roads, compared to 13.9 percent of accidents that happened on curves, potholed roads, and steep grades combined. 2.2 per cent of all accidents in 2021 occurred on road segments when construction was taking place.
About 20.9 per cent of fatalities took place on various junctions in 2021, the report said, adding that within the junction category, T Junction accounted for the largest share of accidents, persons killed and injured.
While almost three-fourths of the accidents and fatalities took place under sunny/clear weather, the report said accidents under adverse weather conditions such as rainy, foggy and hail/sleet accounted for only 16.8 per cent of the total road accidents during 2021.
The report is based on the data/information received from police departments of states/Union Territories collected on calendar year basis.
