India’s road-safety crisis has moved far beyond a transport issue; it now threatens both public health and national security. According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), the nation logged 4,61,312 road accidents in 2022, causing 1,68,491 deaths and 4,43,366 injuries. That means roughly nineteen people die every hour on Indian roads. Preliminary 2023 data show little improvement. That alone is alarming. 

The hardest-hit demographic—citizens aged fifteen to forty-nine—represents India’s most productive age group. Each loss weakens the country’s economic core. Under Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, MoRTH has advanced key reforms: the Motor

Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, the nationwide Sadak Suraksha Abhiyaan, and an initiative with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to teach road safety in schools. Together they signal clear intent to address legal, behavioural, and educational gaps. 

Still, coordination remains fragile. Even strong laws falter when state execution lags. A centrally guided but locally adapted national framework—one that joins departments and empowers states—is vital if fatalities are to fall. 

2. The Ministerial Drive: National Intent 

The Motor Vehicles Amendment became a legislative turning point. It raised fines, tightened licence rules, mandated safety standards, and renewed transport oversight. Alongside it stands MoRTH’s 4 E’s strategy—Education, Engineering, Enforcement, and Emergency care—which frames the country’s policy backbone. 

The Sadak Suraksha Abhiyaan expanded mass-awareness drives, targeted high-risk corridors, and tried to reshape everyday road use. The MoE curriculum initiative is equally forward-looking, embedding caution and discipline in young learners. On the engineering side, the Vehicle Scrappage Policy and mandatory safety technologies such as ABS, airbags, and tyre-pressure systems show that safety is being built into vehicles as well as highways. 

Ambition, however, must turn into proof. The question is no longer *what* should be done but *how well* reforms perform in states and districts. 

 3. Ground Reality: Fatalities Rising Despite Reform 

 If present measures were working, accident numbers would decline. Instead, they keep climbing. In 2022 crashes rose 11.9 percent and deaths 9.4 percent over 2021. Though national highways make up barely two percent of the road network, they saw 36.2 percent of total fatalities. Analysts at the Transportation Research & Injury Prevention Centre (TRIP Centre), IIT Delhi, point to weaknesses in data management, trauma-care coordination, and inter-departmental control (Tiwari, Goel, & Bhalla, 2023). 

Independent sources suggest that many fatalities never reach official records—pushing the actual toll close to 2.7 lakh in 2022 (Suresh, 2025). The pattern is clear: frameworks exist, but inconsistent state execution and poor monitoring undercut results. 

4. Driver Training and Licensing: A Neglected Front 

 In principle, a licence should certify competence. In practice, it often doesn’t. Many transport offices issue licences with minimal testing, ignoring defensive-driving or hazard-response skills. 

MoRTH’s Accredited Driver Training Centres (ADTCs) and AI-based testing pilots are promising, yet coverage is uneven. Hence, inadequately trained drivers remain on the roads, and risky habits—mobile-phone use, speeding, and helmet neglect—continue unchecked. 

To fix this, India should: 

 a. Create uniform standards for training centres and instructor certification. 

 b. Add behavioural modules on distraction, fatigue, and speed control. 

 c. Adopt simulation-based testing instead of rote exams. 

 d. Require commercial drivers to undergo periodic re-testing. 

 e. Driver competence must become measurable, not assumed. 

5. Infrastructure and Enforcement: From Policy to Pavement

Poor design, missing signage, and unsafe crossings plague many states. In one large rural region, over seventy percent of accidents occurred on straight roads—caused by unregulated speed, not complexity. 

Technology offers partial hope. Integrated Traffic Management Systems (ITMS) with cameras, lane-violation sensors, and e-challan automation have improved compliance where deployed, but integration remains patchy. 

To close the gap between policy and pavement, India should: 

 a. Run regular safety audits in every district. 

 b. Maintain public black-spot inventories with fixed remediation budgets. 

 c. Link violation data, accident records, and audit findings in one live dashboard. 

6. Institutional Convergence: The Missing Link 

 Fragmentation erodes results. MoRTH designs policy, states issue licences, police enforce laws, public-works bodies maintain roads, and health departments manage post-crash care. Acting separately, they dilute overall impact. 

Few states have empowered Road Safety Authorities (RSAs). Kerala’s Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) shows the potential of real-time data-sharing among police, transport, and health departments, yet most states still lag. 

A practical answer lies in creating a National Road Safety Coordination Council (NRSCC) under MoRTH to align central policy with state execution. Each state would prepare an annual Action Plan tied to measurable goals—such as halving deaths by 2030 in line with WHO objectives (World Health Organization, 2023). Funding should hinge on outcomes: deaths per 100,000 vehicles, black-spot fixes, and training coverage. 

7. Policy Blueprint for 2025 and Beyond 

 India now needs a performance-driven roadmap built on collaboration and accountability. 

7.1 Empower State-Level Road Safety Authorities 

      a. Operationalise RSAs in every state by end-2025. 

      b. Set clear mandates, budgets, and coordination lines. 

7.2 Link Central Funding to Performance 

      a. Release funds only when states meet targets: reduced deaths per 100,000 vehicles, corrected black-spots, and trained drivers. 

7.3 Overhaul Driver Training and Licensing 

      a. National accreditation of training centres and instructors. 

      b. Mandatory simulation testing and regular renewals for commercial drivers. 

 7.4 Integrate Infrastructure and Enforcement 

      a. Maintain state-wide accident-zone records. 

      b. Conduct annual safety audits through Public Works departments. 

      c. Expand automated monitoring and analytics. 

7.5 Expand Behavioural and Educational Outreach 

      a. Roll out school curricula nationwide. 

      b. Promote community programs for two-wheeler users and pedestrians. 

7.6 Build Unified Data and Monitoring Systems 

      a. Integrate licensing, enforcement, accident, and trauma-care data. 

      b. Publish State-wise Road Safety Scorecards annually. 

 7.7 Frame Road Safety as Economic and National Security Priority 

      a. Treat road safety as a pillar of resilience. 

      b. Recognise that each young death reduces national productivity. 

      c. Embed metrics in the Bharat National Resilience Index (BNRI). 

7.8 Develop Rural and Context-Specific Strategies 

      a. Address rural roads and two-wheeler risks. 

      b. Pilot district-level Zero Fatality Corridors customised to local needs. 

8. Conclusion 

 India’s persistent rise in road fatalities reflects weak execution more than weak policy. The laws exist, as do awareness drives and political intent. What’s lacking is the connective tissue between national vision and ground-level delivery. Every hour nineteen Indians die on the road. They are not statistics but workers, students, and families whose loss hurts national strength. The way forward requires synchronized effort — law, education, enforcement, and engineering working together. Only then will the goal of Safe Roads for All shift from aspiration to achievable reality. 

9. References 

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. (2022, October 30). Road accidents in India 2022. Government of India. https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/RA_2022_30_Oct.pdf

 Press Information Bureau. (2023, October 31). Ministry of Road Transport and Highways releases annual report on "Road Accidents in India – 2022". Government of India. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1973295

Suresh, N. (2025, January 17; updated September 24, 2025). Road accident deaths. Data for India. https://www.dataforindia.com/road-accident-deaths/

Tiwari, G., Goel, R., & Bhalla, K. (2023, December). Road safety in India: Status report 2023. Transportation Research & Injury Prevention Centre (TRIP Centre), IIT Delhi. https://tripc.iitd.ac.in/assets/publication/RSI_2023_web.pdf

World Health Organization. (2023). Global status report on road safety 2023. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/safety-and-mobility/global-status-report-on-road-safety-2023