Over 1.7 lakh people died in road accidents in 2023, the highest since 2005, according to a report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This is up from 1.68 lakh in 2022. The number of accidents rose from 4.6 to 4.8 lakh.
While the number of accidents and deaths dipped significantly in 2020 during the pandemic, accident severity peaked in this year, indicating that despite a fall in the number of accidents, the accidents became deadlier. Since then, accident severity has fallen from 37.2 in 2020 to 36 in 2023. Still, it shows an overall rising trend, increasing from 21.6 in 2005.
