Deaths from crashes due to mobile use while driving rose 33% in 2019

NEW DELHI: Nearly 30% of the total 1.5 lakh deaths in road accidents in 2019 were due to not wearing helmets and another 16% of fatalities were on account of not wearing seatbelts. The fatalities in road crashes caused due to use of mobile phones while driving increased by nearly 33% last year compared to 2018, according to data released by the road transport ministry.

The report on road accidents shows that out of the 56,136 two-wheeler riders who were killed last year, 44,666 were found riding without helmets. Uttar Pradesh topped the list of states in this category with 7,069 deaths, followed by Maharashtra (5,328) and Madhya Pradesh (3,813). Delhi also reported 178 such fatalities.
In the case of seatbelt violations, a total of 20,885 persons (drivers and passengers) were killed in 2019, which was 14.5% less than 2018. While the number of drivers killed for not wearing seatbelt increased by 2.3%, the fatalities declined in the case of passengers by nearly 25%.

An analysis of the report also brings out that there is a maximum rise in deaths in percentage terms due to use of mobile phone while driving among all types of violations. Number of deaths in such crashes increased to 4,945 in 2019 with UP leading the list with 2,650 fatalities. However, speeding continues to be the biggest reason for fatal crashes. In 2019, such fatalities increased to 1.02 lakh compared to 97,588 in 2018.