Tamil Nadu second in road fatalities in 2021: NCRB data 

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu ranks second in deaths caused due to negligence on road according to the ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India- 2021’, released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The State witnessed 15,384 casualties in 14,747 accidents, ranking after Uttar Pradesh with 18,972 casualties in 18,228 accidents. Cause-wise analysis of road accidents in the NCRB data revealed that most of the accidents were due to overspeeding, accounting for 59.7% of total accidents. A whopping 15,384 people died in road accidents in TN, following Uttar Pradesh where 21,792 people died.

In 2021, two-wheelers accounted for the maximum fatal road accidents in the country (69,240). The majority of deaths due to two-wheeler accidents were reported in TN (8,259) and Uttar Pradesh (7,429), accounting for 11.9% and 10.3% of total deaths respectively. Most accidents were reported between 6 pm and 9 pm, accounting for 20.2%. During these hours, the majority of accidents were reported in TN (14,415) followed by Madhya Pradesh (9,798) and Kerala (6,765).

Uttar Pradesh reported 24.4% of total deaths due to road accidents near schools/colleges/other educational institutes in urban areas. It was followed by TN with 9.4%. State patterns revealed that maximum fatalities on the National Highways took place in Uttar Pradesh (7,212), followed by Tamil Nadu (5,360).

Among metropolitan cities, Chennai (district) accounted for the most number of road accident deaths with 5,034. Delhi accounted for 4,505 cases. However, Delhi City witnessed 1,172 deaths followed by Chennai city with 998 deaths.