In 2020, 3,564 accidents caused in India due to potholes in streets: Govt informs Rajya Sabha

Aug. 10: A total of 3,564 road accidents occurred in India due to potholes in the year 2020, which is the lowest in the last five years. 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. 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.