Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Gadkari: 20 Road Deaths Every Hour in India's Crisis
A very important person in India, whose job is to take care of roads, gave a sad warning on Monday.
He said that every hour, about 20 people die on India's roads.
That is like a whole classroom of children being lost every hour.
India has many roads, but more accidents happen there than anywhere else in the world.
Many people die because they do not wear helmets when riding two-wheelers.
The government is spending lots of money to fix dangerous road spots.
The minister said the biggest problem is how people behave on the road.
He wants schools to teach road safety to students in Classes 10 and 12.
A big company called ICICI Lombard gave away thousands of helmets to help keep people safe.
Everyone must work together to make roads safer, he said.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said 20 people die on Indian roads every hour, with nearly 5 lakh accidents and 1.8 lakh deaths recorded annually.
54,132 people died last year for not wearing helmets, and two-wheeler riders account for 45 per cent of all road fatalities.
The government is spending Rs 40,000 crore to fix accident-prone 'black spots' and has identified 100 districts where accidents are most concentrated.
Gadkari called human behaviour the country's biggest weakness and said road accidents cost India nearly 3 per cent of its GDP every year.
At the event, ICICI Lombard distributed over 25,000 ISI-certified helmets across 14 locations and attempted a Guinness World Records title.
- Who
- Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, speaking at an event organized by ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
- What
- Issued a stark warning about India's road safety crisis, citing 20 deaths every hour and detailing government interventions.
- When
- Monday, at a road safety event in the national capital.
- Where
- New Delhi, India.
- Why
- To highlight the scale of road accidents and call for collective action by government, institutions, industry, and road users.
- Annual road accidents in India
- Nearly 5 lakh
- Annual road deaths
- 1.8 lakh
- Deaths per hour
- 20
- Helmet-related deaths last year
- 54,132
- Two-wheeler share of road fatalities
- 45 per cent
- Government spending on accident-prone 'black spots'
- Rs 40,000 crore
- Estimated GDP loss due to road accidents
- Nearly 3 per cent per year
- ICICI Lombard helmets distributed in anniversary drive
- Over 25,000 ISI-certified helmets