- By Jitendra Sharma
- Fri, 29 Aug 2025 10:37 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A new report for the year 2023 has been released on road accidents in the country, but the situation remains the same. Accidents increased by 4.2 percent compared to last year, the number of people who lost their lives also increased, and once again, the blame for most of the accidents (68.4 percent) has been placed on overspeeding.
Once again, the report also mentions the 'government's concern' that 'something has to be done'. However, road safety experts are frowning at this because they believe that the kind of efforts that should have been made for road safety have not been made at all. This allegation cannot be considered baseless, because Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari himself often complains that the department's officers are inefficient but the question is, what action is being taken?
Most Accidents Happened On Straight Roads
Therefore, the report concludes that the rate of accidents is increasing because the officers are indifferent and the government is perhaps helpless. The report for the year 2023, released by the Ministry, claims that 68.4 percent of road accidents this year occurred due to the high speed of vehicles. Road environment and the condition of vehicles were responsible for 22.5 percent of accidents, while 5.3 percent occurred due to driving in the wrong direction.
The total number of accidents caused due to intoxication, signal jumping, and using a phone while driving is only 3.9 percent. Similar figures have been shown for the condition of roads. According to the report, 67.0 percent of total accidents occurred on straight roads, while only 12.2 percent occurred on winding roads. Even among the accidents that occurred on straight roads, 76.1 percent happened when the weather was completely clear. The rainy season was responsible for 7.8 percent, while fog accounted for only 7.1 percent.
ALSO READ: Karnataka: Five Dead As KSRTC Bus Crashes Into Passenger Shelter Due To Brake Failure | Video
Govt Report On India’s Road Accidents Under Scrutiny For Indiscriminately Blaming Overspeeding
The ministry has collected all these figures through the police, but experts do not believe them. Professor P.K. Sikdar, advisor of the International Road Congress India Chapter, says that all the shortcomings are always hidden and the blame is put on overspeeding. How can it be believed that the reason given by the police i.e., overspeeding is the correct one? Even in the case of a major accident, officers go for investigation after two or three days, whereas the real cause of the accident can only be determined through immediate investigation.
Another question is: when CCTV cameras have not been installed on all highways, how was overspeeding detected?
Prof. Sikdar’s question is also accurate because the government itself has stated that, so far, an advanced traffic management system has been implemented on only 20,000 kilometers of the highway network, while the total network of national and state highways is about 3.25 lakh kilometers.
Similarly, Dr. Kamal Soi, a member of the Road Safety Advisory Committee of the Government of India, says that if accidents are happening due to overspeeding, then the ministry should clarify what measures have been taken to prevent it. Speed radars have been installed in western countries. Here, the plan to install speed governors in commercial vehicles is still gathering dust. This is an intelligent transport system connected to the fuel supply system of the vehicle, which prevents excess fuel from being used to increase speed. Dr. Soi also blames irregularities in vehicle fitness and poor road engineering.