Road Accidents: MoRTH Report Highlights Minors Increasingly Becoming Victims Of Road-Crash Deaths

As per a report on road crashes released by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry, the number of minors (below 18 years) killed increased to 9,528 — 6 per cent of all road fatalities in 2022, compared to 7,764 in 2021.

The number of minors killed in road crashes last year increased by 28 per cent, while those in the age group of 18-45 years remained the worst hit in such accidents, accounting for more than two-third of the total 1.68 lakh fatalities in 2022.

Experts said that while the government has put in place several regulations for the safety of minors, there is a need to make them more aware of the risks on the road.

The World Health Organisation has categorised road crashes as the leading cause of death among youths and kids.

The data collated from all states and union territories also show that people in their most productive age were the biggest victims of road crashes with around 1.12 lakh deaths.

The report also said that the “working age group of 18-60 years accounted for 83.4 per cent of total road accident deaths.”

The other age-group of road crash victims that has seen significant rise in fatalities, is those above 60 years. In 2022, there was around 16 per cent increase in the deaths of such road users and a total of 13,636 people over 60 years lost their lives in 2022 compared to 11,739 in 2021.

The government has maintained that the socio-economic cost of road crashes in India cost around 3 per cent of the country’s GDP, as it loses a large number of young and working persons every year.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has called it “one of the biggest national losses,” while urging people to contribute to make roads safer.