3 weeks ago
Mobile Phones Causing Nearly 2% of India's Fatal Road Accidents
Many people use mobile phones while driving, and this is causing a lot of accidents in India.
A driver only needs to look away for two or three seconds to miss a stopping car, a pedestrian, or a turn.
Officials say phone use causes nearly two out of every hundred road accidents in the country.
More than 3,300 people die every year because of these distracted drivers.
Police in a region called Chittoor see many of these accidents.
They think the real number is even higher than official records show.
It is hard to prove someone was using a phone, so police check call records, camera footage, and witnesses.
Drivers who cause a fatal accident by using a phone can face serious legal trouble.
Experts say drivers should stop at a safe place before answering a call.
No phone call is more important than getting home safely.
Mobile phone use while driving accounts for 1.5 to 1.9 per cent of road accidents nationwide and claims over 3,300 lives annually in India.
In the undivided Chittoor district, 1,335 road accidents were registered in 2025 and 826 cases have been reported so far this year.
Police linked 146 deaths in 2025 and 75 deaths this year in Chittoor to car drivers or two-wheeler riders using mobile phones.
Officials believe the actual number of phone-related accidents is far higher because usage is often unrecorded during initial investigations.
Police warn that negligence caused by mobile phone use in a fatal accident can lead to criminal prosecution in addition to penalties under the Motor Vehicles Act.
- Who
- Motorists and two-wheeler riders in India, including young students and employees, and police officials in the undivided Chittoor district.
- What
- Mobile phone use while driving is causing nearly 2 per cent of fatal road accidents, with over 3,300 deaths recorded annually nationwide.
- Where
- India, with particular concern in the erstwhile Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh along the Tirupati-Chennai and Tirupati-Bengaluru national highways.
- When
- Data covers 2025, when 1,335 accidents were registered in Chittoor, and the current year, with 826 cases reported so far.
- Why
- Momentary distraction from answering calls, checking messages, or using earphones while driving leads to fatal crashes, and such cases often go unrecorded in initial investigations.
Key facts
- Share of accidents caused by phone use (nationwide)
- 1.5 to 1.9 per cent
- Lives lost annually (nationwide)
- Over 3,300
- Accidents registered in undivided Chittoor in 2025
- 1,335
- Accidents reported this year in Chittoor
- 826
- Phone-related deaths in Chittoor in 2025
- 146
- Phone-related deaths this year in Chittoor
- 75
- Evidence used in investigations
- Call detail records, CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts, dash cam recordings, mobile tower data
Quotes
Senior police officer
Police officer explaining risks of mobile phone use while driving.
“Many people think answering a phone call will not affect their driving. But even a two or three second distraction is enough to miss a slowing vehicle, a pedestrian, or a U turn. Most of these accidents can be avoided if motorists stop at a safe place before attending to the call.”
deccanchronicle.com
“He called saying he is on the way home. A few minutes later, we received a call informing us about the accident. My children lost their father because of one phone call. If he had stopped the bike before answering it, he might still be with us today.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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