The tragic death of two motorbike-borne IT professionals after they were allegedly hit by a Porsche in Pune has once again put the spotlight on India’s hit-and-run scourge. And data paint a grim picture. The rise in such accidents, involving pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, has sparked widespread concern among authorities and citizens.
Why it is making news at the moment
The recent Pune Porsche case has reignited the concern surrounding hit-and-run accidents in India. In the early hours of May 19, two young IT professionals lost their lives when their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche Taycan, allegedly driven at 150 kmph by a 17-year old. Reports suggested that the teenager behind the wheel was drunk at the time of the collision.
Deaths by road accidents
In 2022 alone, there were 1,48,716 reported incidents of deaths due to negligence in road accidents. The crime rate registered at a concerning 11.1 per lakh population, according to the Crime in India Report 2022.
Hit-and-run cases
Hit-and-run cases accounted for 46,907 reported accidents, resulting in the loss of 49,893 lives, with a crime rate of 3.5 per lakh population, according to the report. With 17,296 deaths, Uttar Pradesh witnessed the most hit-and-run deaths in 2022, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra with 9073 and 3632 deaths respectively.
Young adults aged 18-45 years bore the brunt of road accidents, comprising 66.5% of the victims in 2022. People in the working age group of 18-60 years accounted for 83.4% of the total road accident fatalities, according to the report.
Two-wheeler riders constituted 44.5% of persons, the highest, killed in road accidents in 2022. Pedestrians were the second-largest group, representing 19.5% of fatalities, the report said.
Hit-and-run accidents, even though a significant concern in India, are not the sole cause of road accidents and fatalities. Various factors, including head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, and side impacts, too, contribute significantly to the overall numbers, data show.
In 2022, hit-and-run incidents ranked fifth among nine types of road accidents and related deaths.
Road accident distribution
At least 32.9% of road accidents occurred on National highways and expressways, 23.1% on State Highways, and the remaining 43.9% on other roads. As for fatalities, 36.2% happened on National Highways, 24.3% on State Highways and 39.4% on other roads.
About 68% of road accident deaths occurred in rural regions and 32% in the country’s urban areas, according to the report.
Categories of vehicles
Two-wheelers remained the primary vehicle category involved in accidents and fatalities for the second consecutive year, followed by cars, jeeps and taxis.
