67% of road accidents occurred on straight stretches in 2022: Govt report

New Delhi: Straight roads are more prone to accidents in the country, as 67% of accidents out of total accidents took place on such roads in 2022, according to a report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

Of the 4,61,312 accidents that occurred in 2022, 3,09,247 occurred on straight roads, accounting for 67% of the total, according to the report.

A total of 1,11,815 people died and 2,97,694 were injured due to accidents on straight roads last year, the report said.

Accidents on curved roads, pothole roads, and steep grades together accounted for only 13.8% of the total road accidents in 2022.

The data also revealed that 47.7% of accidents and 55.1% of deaths occurred in open areas, like locations that normally do not have any human activity in the vicinity.

Residential areas were in second place with 18.7% of total accidents, followed by market and commercial areas, which accounted for 14.3% of total accidents, says a report titled Road Accidents in India-2022.

A total of 2,19,988 accidents took place in open areas, in which 92,772 people died. In the residential area, a total of 86,292 accidents took place, and 29,950 people died.

In the market/commercial area, a total of 66,125 accidents took place, in which 19,950 people died.

A total of 4,61,312 road accidents were reported by states and Union Territories in 2022, claiming 1,68,491 lives and injuring 4,43,366 people.

“Vehicle speed tends to be high on straight roads in open areas, which corroborates the high percentage of road accidents and people killed and injured (varying in the range of 66–67%) on these roads,” the report said.

“However, the data suggests that road safety measures must not be ignored in even straight road stretches, which are normally considered less risky. Road sections where construction work was in progress accounted for 2.0% of total accidents in 2022,” the report said.

A total of 94,009 road accidents were reported between 6 pm and 9 pm last year, accounting for over 20% of the total mishaps in the country.

"In 2022, the time interval between 18:00-21:00 hrs recorded the maximum number (94,009) of road accidents, accounting for 20.4% of the total accidents in the country... and this is in line with the pattern seen over the past five years," the report said.