One death every three minutes: India’s road safety crisis deepens

India's road network is among the world’s largest, but it is also one of the deadliest. In 2023, more than 172,000 people died in road crashes across the country—an average of 474 fatalities per day or nearly one death every three minutes, BBC reported.

Though the official crash data for 2023 is yet to be released, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari disclosed preliminary figures at a road safety event in December, drawing attention to a worsening crisis.

Among those killed were 10,000 children, another 10,000 people in accidents near schools and colleges, 35,000 pedestrians, and a large number of two-wheeler riders.

Speeding was identified as the leading cause of fatalities.

Alarming gaps in basic safety precautions added to the death toll—54,000 individuals died for not wearing helmets, while 16,000 lost their lives due to not wearing seatbelts.

Overloading claimed 12,000 lives, and 34,000 accidents involved drivers without valid licences. Wrong-side driving was another significant contributor.

In 2021, 13% of all crashes involved those with learner permits or no licence at all. The roads are also filled with ageing vehicles lacking modern safety features like airbags or even seatbelts.

India’s roads are notoriously chaotic. Vehicles share space with non-motorised transport, handcarts, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, and hawkers, creating an unpredictable and hazardous environment.

This complexity, combined with enforcement lapses, poor infrastructure, and a disregard for road laws, has made India’s roads among the most dangerous globally.

"There's a lack of fear and respect for the law," Gadkari said at the safety event.

But last month, he also admitted that faulty civil engineering—subpar road design, construction flaws, and inadequate signage—were major reasons for the high number of fatalities. “The most important culprits are civil engineers,” he said.

His ministry reported 59 major infrastructure deficiencies on national highways since 2019, including road cave-ins.

Of the 13,795 known accident-prone “black spots,” only 5,036 have undergone long-term fixes.

Safety audits by the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre (TRIPP) at IIT Delhi have revealed severe design lapses.

Crash barriers, which are meant to prevent vehicles from leaving the road safely, are often installed incorrectly, becoming more dangerous than protective.

“Unless installed exactly as specified, crash barriers can do more harm than good,” said Prof Geetam Tiwari of IIT Delhi.

Tall road medians—meant to separate traffic directions—often exceed safe heights, increasing the risk of tyre bursts and rollovers.

Elevated carriageways, particularly in rural areas, pose another risk. Repeated road resurfacing raises the main road above the shoulder by 6–8 inches, turning a simple swerve into a deadly maneuver.

While India has strong road design standards on paper, enforcement is weak.

“Non-compliance with safety standards attracts minimal penalties,” Prof Tiwari noted, adding that road construction contracts often prioritize kilometres built over safety compliance.

Gadkari has announced plans to upgrade 25,000km of two-lane highways into four-lane roads. But experts are wary of equating road widening with enhanced safety.

Kavi Bhalla, a road safety researcher at the University of Chicago, warned, “There is no reason to believe that road widening will lead to fewer traffic deaths.”

He argued that increasing road capacity often leads to higher vehicle speeds, putting pedestrians and cyclists at greater risk.

“India is trying to build US-style highway infrastructure but not investing in US-style safety engineering research and crash data systems,” Bhalla added.

The government is now relying on the “5Es” framework—engineering of roads and vehicles, education, enforcement, and emergency care—to address the crisis.

According to KK Kapila of the International Road Federation, targeted interventions based on this approach have improved safety on high-risk stretches in seven states.

Still, experts warn that India’s development must not come at the cost of its most vulnerable road users.

“The price of development shouldn't be borne by the poorest,” said Bhalla. “If we don’t evaluate and adapt road safety strategies, roads will only get smoother, cars faster—and more people will die.”