Road crashes killed record 1.8 lakh in 2025; 502 deaths daily
UPSC / SSC current affairs note
Why in news
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways provided data to Lok Sabha on July 23, 2026, showing that road crash fatalities in India reached a record high of over 1.8 lakh in 2025, averaging 502 deaths per day. This marks the highest number since the government began collating data, indicating that current road safety strategies may be insufficient.
Background
India has been grappling with high road accident fatalities for years. The government launched the e-Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) system as a digital database to analyze crash causes and devise safety measures. Despite various initiatives, fatalities have continued to rise.
Key facts
Road crashes killed a little over 1.8 lakh people in 2025, translating to 502 deaths per day.
This is the highest number of road crash fatalities since the government started collating data.
Road crashes increased by 5.3% to over 5.1 lakh in 2025, and fatalities rose by 3.5%.
Uttar Pradesh saw the highest increase in fatalities, from 24,118 in 2024 to 27,550 in 2025.
Punjab recorded a major decline in road deaths, from 4,759 in 2024 to 3,062 in 2025.
18 states and UTs reported a rise in road deaths in 2025, while 17 reported a decline.
Lakshadweep reported zero road deaths in both 2024 and 2025.
Data for West Bengal was taken from eDAR records as of Jan 2, 2026; for others, as of July 22, 2026.
6,358 'black corridors' on National Highways were identified during 2023-25, recording 37,164 deaths.
Tamil Nadu had the most black corridors (958), followed by Uttar Pradesh (671) and Karnataka (607).
Prelims pointers
- eDAR: e-Detailed Accident Report – digital central accident database management system.
- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) provided data to Lok Sabha.
- Black corridors: continuous NH stretches with high crash fatalities/grievous injuries.
- Viluppuram district in Tamil Nadu had maximum black corridors (70).
- Lakshadweep reported zero road deaths in 2024 and 2025.
Mains angles
- GS3: Infrastructure – Road safety measures and their effectiveness.
- GS2: Government policies and interventions – Analysis of eDAR and black corridor identification.
- GS3: Disaster management – Road accident prevention and mitigation strategies.