Negligence claims 495 lives on roads daily; two-wheeler riders account for 48%: NCRB

NEW DELHI: Road deaths due to negligence — rash, careless, or irresponsible driving — claimed 495 lives daily in 2024, as per the latest report “Crime in India” of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) made public on Wednesday. It said that nearly 1.81 lakh lives were lost in such accidents, an increase of nearly 4.4% over the previous year.

As per NCRB (under home ministry), Uttar Pradesh reported maximum road deaths in 2024 due to negligence (25,158), followed by Tamil Nadu (18,676), Karnataka (16,232), Madhya Pradesh (15,440) and Maharashtra (15,249). All these states reported more road fatalities compared with 2023, indicating that Indian roads have become more unsafe.

NCRB report also shows that the number of people killed in hit-and-run cases increased from 55,334 in 2023 to 56,974 in 2024, with UP topping the list with 19,641 such fatalities, followed by MP (10,130) and Bihar (4,949). Among million-plus cities, Delhi reported a maximum of 949 hit-and-run deaths, followed by Bengaluru (773) and Jaipur (744).

In another report “Accidental Deaths and Suicide in India”, which was also published on Wednesday said that traffic accidents, which includes on roads, railway tracks and railway crossings — claimed a little over 1.99 lakh lives in 2024. UP recorded the maximum 27,071 fatalities, followed by Tamil Nadu (20,390) and Maharashtra (19,475). These three states collectively accounted for 33.6% of total such fatalities during 2024.

Two-wheeler riders accounted for 84,599 fatalities, which was 48.3% of all road deaths during 2024. Pedestrians had the second highest share of road deaths at 25,769 (14.7%) followed by car occupants 23,739.