New Delhi: A total of 151,113 people have died in road accidents in India during 2019. The figures are .20 per cent less than the casualties in 2018, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha, Monday. Nitin Gadkari said that the number of road accidents in India stood at 4,49,002 during 2019, down 3.9 per cent in which 151,113 people lost their lives.
Gadkari also responded to a question from a group of Members of Parliament regarding the cause behind such high number of accidents. He said that road accidents occur due to multiple reasons such as speeding, drunken driving, driving on the wrong side, use of mobile phones during driving, mechanical faults in vehicles, etc.
“The ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on education, engineering, enforcement and emergency care,” Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha.
He further added that the ministry has made road design an integral part at the planning stage. “The ministry has delegated powers to regional officers of MoRTH for technical approval of the detailed estimates for rectification of identified road accident black spots,” he added.