A total of 19,478 road accidents occurred in 2021 due to loss of control by the driver due to inappropriate speed, distraction or misjudging a curve, which claimed 9,150 lives while 19,077 people were injured, according to a report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
The report titled ‘Road accidents in India — 2021’, said the nature of accident or collision types at aggregate national-level data shows an increase in 2021 compared to 2020. India’s star cricketer Rishabh Pant suffered multiple injuries when his car collided with a road divider on the Delhi-Dehradun highway early on Friday.
”Pant met with an accident in Manglaur in Haridwar district when his car hit a divider at 5.30 am on Friday,” Haridwar SSP Ajai Singh said.
A total of 4,12,432 road accidents occurred in 2021, which claimed 1,53,972 lives while 3,84,448 people were injured.
According to the report, hit from the back (21.2 per cent) accounted for the largest share in total accidents and the total number of persons killed (18.6 per cent) during 2021 followed by ‘head on collision’ (18.5 per cent) and (17.7 per cent), respectively. Head-on collisions are known to occur on roads with narrow lanes, sharp curves, unseparated lanes for two-way traffic and also busy stretches. According to the report, the other major types of collision which caused death are ‘hit & run’ (16.8 per cent) and ‘hit from the side’ (11.9 per cent). The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 provides for enhanced rates of Rs 2, 00,000 on the death of a victim in a hit and run as against Rs 25,000 earlier. A hit from the back or a rear-end collision occurs when a vehicle crashes into the one in front of it. Common factors contributing to rear-end collisions include the driver’s lack of attention or distraction, tailgating (back to back) at junctions, panic stops and reduced traction due to wet weather or worn pavement.
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