'Lowest' in 5 Yrs, Only 3,564 Accidents Took Place in 2020 Due to Potholes in India: Gadkari

Total 3,564 road accidents occurred in India due to potholes in the year 2020, which is the lowest in the last five years, Parliament was informed on Monday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.

According to Gadkari, the total number of road accidents due to potholes in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 stood at 6,424; 9,423; 4,869 and 4,775, respectively. He also pointed out that the number of accidents in 2019 declined by 4 per cent to 4,49,002.

The number of accidents due to over speeding in 2019 was 3,19,028. Accidents due to drunken driving/consumption of alcohol & drugs stood at 12,256. The number of accidents due to driving on wrong side/ lane indiscipline, jumping red light and use of mobile phone in 2019 stood at 24,431; 4,443 and 10,522, respectively.

The minister noted that road accidents occur due to multiple reasons such as automobile design, over speeding, use of mobile phone, drunken driving/consumption of alcohol / drug, overloaded vehicle, vehicular condition, poor light condition. Besides, jumping red light, overtaking neglect of civic bodies, weather condition, fault of driver, driving on wrong side, defect in road condition, defect in condition of motor vehicle, fault of cyclist, fault of pedestrian are other reasons.

High priority is being given to identification and rectification of black spots (accident prone spots) on national highways, Gadkari said, adding that road safety has been made an integral part of road design at planning stage. Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said 4,408 km of 2 lane, 2,913 km of 4 lane and 1,099 km of 6/8 lane road were constructed in 2020-21.

In response to another question, he said total 5,50,491 electric transport vehicles and 69,969 electric non-transport vehicles are registered on VAHAN 4.0.

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