Archive · 3 Aug 2026
India Sees First Decline in Highway Fatalities Since Pandemic
India has, for the first time since the Covid pandemic, seen fewer people die on its big highways.
The number of deaths fell from about 65,000 to 62,000.
The biggest drops were in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The government says this is because of better road design, stricter speed limits, more cameras and faster medical help after crashes.
Even though highway deaths went down, accidents on all roads in the country still went up, and speeding is still the biggest problem.
National highway deaths fell 4.1% to 62,122, the first drop since Covid‑19.
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh led the decline, cutting deaths by 1,987 and 1,034 respectively.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways credits a 4E strategy—Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency Care—for the improvement.
Overspeeding remains the top cause of fatal highway crashes, with wrong‑side driving, fatigue and mobile phone distraction also high.
Despite the drop, overall road accidents nationwide continued to rise during the same period.
- Who
- Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
- What
- First decline in national highway fatalities since the Covid‑19 pandemic
- When
- 2023 (latest reporting period)
- Where
- India, national highways and centrally operated expressways
- Why
- Improved road engineering, enforcement, education and emergency care under the 4E strategy
- Fatalities
- 62,122
- Decrease
- 4.1%
- States with biggest decline
- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh
- Top cause of fatal crashes
- Overspeeding
- Government strategy
- 4E (Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency Care)