Lok Sabha Question No. 410 (STARRED), answered on 2025-08-21
Subject: Road Accidents
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Rajesh Verma, Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 410

ANSWERED ON 21 ST  AUGUST, 2025

## ROAD ACCIDENTS

- *410. SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

## be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  identified  major  causes  of  road accidents  in  the  country  including  overspeeding  and  potholes,  if  so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  measures  being  taken  to  improve  road  infrastructure  and eliminate accident-prone spots across the country;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to implement stricter enforcement mechanisms and awareness campaigns to curb reckless driving and overspeeding and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the role of technology and smart traffic management systems in enhancing road safety; and
- (e) the  manner  in  which  Government  policies  align  with  ensuring safer transportation for all citizens?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a) to (e)   A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *410  FOR  ANSWER  ON  21.08.2025 ASKED BY SHRI RAJESH VERMA AND DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE REGARDING ROAD ACCIDENTS.

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- (a)      The  Government  publishes  report  on  'Road  Accidents  in  India' based  on  data  received  from  States/  UTs.  As  per  the  data,  road accidents are multi-causal phenomenon and are the result of interplay of  various  factors.  These  can  broadly  be  categorized  into  (i)  human error, (ii) road condition/environment and (iii) vehicular condition.

Total  number  of  Road  Accidents  in  the  country  on  all  categories  of roads classified according to major causes during 2022 is given below : -

| Causes of road accidents                      | No. of road accidents   |
|-----------------------------------------------|-------------------------|
| Over-speeding                                 | 3,33,323                |
| Drunken driving/consumption of alcohol & drug | 10,080                  |
| Driving on wrong side/Lane indiscipline       | 22,586                  |
| Jumping red light                             | 4,021                   |
| Use of mobile phone                           | 7,558                   |
| Others $                                      | 83,744                  |
| All India                                     | 4,61,312                |

- $ including 4,446 accidents attributed to potholes.
- (b) to (e)    The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 enacted by the Parliament has strengthened the traffic laws in the country.

Sub-section  (1)  of  Section  198A  of  the  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988 provides for any designated authority, contractor, consultant or concessionaire responsible for the design or construction or maintenance of the safety standards of the road to follow such design, construction and maintenance standards, as may be prescribed by the Central Government from time to time.

Road  Safety  Audit  (RSA)  of  all  National  Highways  (NHs)  has  been made mandatory  through  third  party  auditors/  experts  at  all  stages i.e. design, construction, operation and maintenance etc.

High  priority  is  accorded  to  identification  and  rectification  of  black spots/accident spots on NHs.  Rectification of black spots is a continuous process and temporary rectification measures are taken on immediate basis. Long term rectification works include improvement of road geometrics, junction improvements, spot widening of carriageway, construction of underpasses/overpasses, etc. which involve  pre-construction  activities  such  as  land  acquisition,  forest clearance  &  utility  shifting  which  takes  significant  time.  Further, rectification  measures  on  accident  spots  on  National  Highways  as reported on Electronic Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) Portal are also undertaken.

Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides for electronic monitoring  and  enforcement  of  road  safety  on  National  Highways, State Highways, roads or in any urban city within a state which has a population up to such limits as may be prescribed by the Government. Accordingly,  Government has published Rule 167A under the Central Motor  Vehicles  Rules  (CMVR),  1989  in  August  2021  for  Electronic Monitoring  and  Enforcement  of  Road  Safety  at  high-risk  and  highdensity corridors on National Highways, State Highways and at critical junctions in cities having more than one million population and cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in the Country.

The  responsibility  to  implement  the  provisions  of  Rule  167A  of  the CMVR, 1989 in terms of section 136A of the MV Act, 1988 comes under the  purview  of  the  State  Governments.  However,  to  support  the States,  Government has issued guidelines for incentive to States for Implementation  of  Electronic  Enforcement  of  Road  Safety  under  the Scheme of Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 202526 (SASCI 2025-26) with allocation of Rs. 3,000 Crore on First-ComeFirst-Served basis.

The  Government  undertakes  the  construction  of  National  Highways and access-controlled National Expressways with the incorporation of appropriate  safety  measures  and  equipment  to  ensure  safe  and efficient transportation. Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) is  installed  in  high  traffic  density  National  Highways  and  National Expressways such as Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Trans-Haryana, Eastern Peripheral Expressway etc. by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Advanced Traffic Management  System (ATMS) has provisions  for  various  electronic  enforcement  devices  which  help  in speedy  identification of incidents on the highway  stretches and effectively monitor the highways, thereby improving the response time of the on-site assistance.

In new NH projects on high density and high speed corridors of NHAI, installation of ATMS is generally a part of the project.  Further, ATMS is  also  implemented  as  standalone  projects  in  already  constructed important corridors.  ATMS includes sub-systems like AI based Video Incident Detection and Enforcement System (VIDES)

Government  has  formulated  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to  address  the issue of road safety based on 4E's i.e. Education, Engineering (both of roads  and  vehicles),  Enforcement  and  Emergency  Care.  Accordingly, various initiatives  have  been  taken  for  road  safety  in  the  country  as detailed at Annexure.

While  Central  Government  formulates  rules  under  the  Motor  Vehicle Act, 1988, the enforcement of these rules comes under the purview of State Governments/UT Administrations.

Further, Government in the Ministry of Railways has also undertaken various  activities  for ensuring  safer  transportation  of  citizens,  which interalia include electrical / electronic interlocking systems, interlocking  of  level  crossing  gates,  complete  Track  Circuiting  of stations,  introduction  of  Kavach  as  a  highly  technology  intensive system,  provisions  of  retro-reflective  sigma  boards,  GPS  based  Fog Safety Device, etc.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) to (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  410  ANSWERED  ON  21ST  AUGUST,  2025 ASKED BY SHRI RAJESH VERMA AND DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE REGARDING ROAD ACCIDENTS

Details  of  various  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  in  Ministry  of Road Transport and Highways for road safety : -

- (1)        Education:
- i.        Administers  a  scheme  for  setting  up  of  Institutes  of  Driving Training & Research (IDTRs), Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs)  and  Driving  Training  Centres  (DTCs)  at  state/district  level across  the  Country. Recently  revised  scheme  guidelines  have  been issued,  incorporating  enhanced  financial  assistance  and  streamlined eligibility criteria for establishing Driving Training Institutes. Additionally, incentives have been introduced for setting up Automated Testing Stations (ATS) in conjunction with Driving Training Institutes (DTIs) under the Training-Testing Cluster approach.
- ii. Administers Road Safety Advocacy Scheme for raising awareness  about  road  safety  and  for administering road safety programs.
- iii.         Observance  of  National  Road  Safety  Month  every  year  for spreading awareness and strengthening road safety.
- iv.      Prepared  Concept  Note  and  Road  Map  for  involvement  of volunteers under Sadak Suraksha Mitra for Road Safety related works.
- (2)     Engineering :
7. 2.1.    Road engineering:
- i.      Road Safety Audit (RSA) of all National Highways (NHs) has been made mandatory through third party auditors/ experts at all stages i.e. design, construction, operation and maintenance etc.
- ii.      High  priority  is  accorded  to  identification  and  rectification  of black spots /accident spots on NHs.
- iii.    Road Safety Officer (RSO) has been designated at each Regional Office  of  road  owning  agencies  under  the  Ministry  to  look  after  RSA and other road safety related works.
- iv.     Administers  the  electronic  Detailed  Accident  Report  (e-DAR) Project  to  establish  a  central  repository  for  reporting,  management and analysis of road accidents data across the Country.
- v.      Issued  guidelines  for  the  provision  of  signages  on  Expressways and  National Highways  to  offer improved  visibility and  intuitive guidance to the drivers.
- vi.       Provisions  have been made in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for failure to comply with standards for the road design, construction and maintenance, as prescribed by the Central Government from time to time.

## 2.2    Vehicle engineering:

Various initiatives were undertaken to make vehicles safer, including the following:-

- i.       Mandatory provision of an airbag for the passenger seated on the front seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.
- ii.        Prescribed norms related to safety measures for children below four  years  of  age,  riding  or  being  carried  on  a  motor  cycle.  It  also specifies use of a safety harness, crash helmet and restricts speed to 40kmph.
- iii. Mandatory  provisions  for  fitment  of  following  listed  safety technologies: -

For M1 category vehicles:

-  Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and co-driver.
-  Manual Override for central locking system
-  Over speed warning system.

For all M and N category vehicles:

- 
- Reverse Parking Alert System
- iv.        Mandated Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) for certain classes of  L  [Motor  vehicle  with  less  than  four  wheels  and  includes  a Quadricycle],  M  [Motor  vehicles  with  at  least  four  wheels  used  for carrying passengers] and N [Motor vehicles with at least four wheels used for carrying goods which may also carry persons in addition to goods, subject to conditions stipulated in BIS standards] categories.
- v.     Mandated  speed  limiting  function/speed  limiting  device  in  all transport vehicles, except for two wheelers, three wheelers, quadricycles, fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles.
- vi.     Published  the  rules  for  recognition,  regulation  and  control  of Automated  Testing  Stations,  which  define  the  procedure  for  fitness testing  of  vehicles  through  automated  equipment  and  the  procedure
- for  grant  of  fitness  certificate  by  ATSs.  The  rules  have  been  further amended on 31.10.2022 and 14.03.2024.
- vii.   Formulated the Vehicle Scrapping Policy based on incentives/disincentives and for creating an ecosystem to phase out old, unfit and polluting vehicles.
- viii. Formulated  a Scheme  to  set up one model  Inspection  & Certification  Centre  in  each  State/UT  with  Central  assistance  for testing the fitness of vehicles through an automated system.
- ix.  Published rules regarding the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP) to introduce the concept of safety rating of passenger cars and empower consumers to take informed decisions.
- x.  Published rules regarding prescribed level playing field in the area of manufacturing  of buses  by  Original  Equipment  Manufacturers (OEMs) and Bus Body Builders.
- xi.   Mandated  vehicles,  manufactured  on  or  after  1st  October,  2025, shall be fitted with an air-conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles of N2 (goods vehicle with gross vehicle weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but  not  exceeding  12.0  tonnes)  and  N3  (goods  vehicle  with  gross
- vehicle weight exceeding 12.0 tonnes) category.
- xii. Published  rules for revision of standards  for Safety Belt, Restraint Systems and Safety Belt Reminder to provide provisions for applicability  of  revised  standards  for  safety  belt  assemblies,  safety belt  anchorages  and  the  installation  of  Safety  Belts  and  Restraint Systems, in Motor vehicles of category M,N and L7 w.e.f. 01st April, 2025. Further, the vehicles of category M1, manufactured on and after the 1st April 2025, shall meet the requirement of safety belt reminder for all front facing rear seats as per AIS-145-2018.

## (3)        Enforcement:

- i. The  Motor  Vehicles  (Amendment)  Act,  2019  as  stands implemented provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance and enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules and strict enforcement  through  use  of  technology.  Traffic  management and enforcement  is  essentially  in  the  domain  of  State  Governments/UT Administrations. While Central Government formulates rules under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the enforcement of these rules comes under the purview of State Governments/UT Administrations.
- ii.         Issued rules for Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety.  The  rules  specify  the  detailed  provisions  for  placement  of electronic enforcement devices on high risk & high density corridors

on  National  Highways,  State  Highways  and  critical  junctions  cities having a population of more than one million in the country and cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

- iii.          Government  has  issued  guidelines  for  incentive  to  States  for Implementation  of  Electronic  Enforcement  of  Road  Safety  under  the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 202526 (SASCI 2025-26) with allocation of Rs. 3,000 Crore (on first come first serve basis).
- iv.     On 10th June, 2024, the Government has issued an advisory to all the  States  and  Union  territories  on  technological  interventions  for ensuring compliance with Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.
- (4)        Emergency care:
- i.            Revised  the  scheme  guidelines  (named  as  Rah-Veer)  for  the protection  of  Good  Samaritan,  who  in  good  faith,  voluntarily  and without expectation of any reward or compensation renders emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance at the scene of an accident to the victim or transports such victim to the hospital. As per  the  scheme,  the  reward  for  Rah-Veer  has  been  increased  to  Rs. 25,000/- from Rs. 5,000/-.
- ii.           Enhanced  compensation  of  victims  of  Hit  and  Run  motor accidents (from Rs. 12,500 to Rs. 50,000 for grievous hurt and from Rs. 25,000 to Rs.2,00,000 for death).
- iii.         The  National Highways Authority of India has made provisions for ambulances with paramedical staff/Emergency Medical Technician/Nurse at toll plazas on the completed corridors of National Highways.
- iv.          Government  in  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and  Highways  has notified  the  Cashless  Treatment  of  Road  Accident  Victims  Scheme, 2025 on 5 th  May, 2025. The detailed guidelines including process flow, stakeholder wise standard operating procedures and clearly delineated  roles  and  responsibilities  have  also  been  notified  on  4 th June, 2025.

*****