Road crashes in Maharashtra have seen steady rise since 2019

Fatal accidents constituted 42.1 per cent of the total road crashes in Maharashtra between 2019 and 2023. Representation Pic

As Maharashtra's road network grows, with new corridors and highways sprouting every year, so is the number of crashes witnessed on these stretches. The latest statistics show a steady rise in road crashes since 2019. While mishap-related fatalities have also been on the rise since that date, the 2023 figure was a tad lower than that of 2022. The number of deaths caused by crashes recorded in 2019 and 2023 is 12,788 and 15,009 respectively.

As per statistics released at a Road Safety Week event this week, the total number of crashes seen in the state increased from 32,925 in 2019 to 34,114 in 2023. The number of fatal crashes in 2019 was 11,787, which increased to 13,781 in 2023, while the 2022 figure is 14,058.

"Road crashes are a major concern nationally and they lead to a three per cent loss of GDP, at least, in low and middle-income countries. To address this issue, government, non-government as well as road users need to come together for solutions to save lives. In the state, two-wheeler users were involved in 50.8 per cent of road crash fatalities that the state witnessed. Maharashtra stood second nationally in this category after Tamil Nadu," said Piyush Tewari of SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF), who has been working on safety on Maharashtra's roads.

"Categorising road crashes based on the severity of the mishaps, it was seen that fatal accidents constituted 42.1 per cent of the total road crashes and 36.7 per cent were grievous injury accidents. Thus, a large proportion of the crashes that the state witnessed were severe," he added.

15,009
No of crash fatalities in state in 2023