Road crashes biggest cause of deaths due to unintentional injuries: Report

New Delhi: Road crashes are the biggest cause of deaths due to unintentional injuries in India, accounting for more than 43 per cent of such fatalities, with overspeeding being the leading reason, according to a new report.

The other contributors to deaths due to unintentional injuries are drowning, falls, poisoning and burns.

The report titled "National Strategy for prevention of unintentional injury", compiled by the Ministry of Health, was launched during "Safety 2024", the 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 2024.

"There were 4,30,504 deaths from unintentional injuries and 1,70,924 deaths due to intentional injuries in India in 2022. From 2016 to 2022, there has been a marginal increase in deaths due to unintentional and intentional injuries. Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) are the highest cause of unintentional injuries (43.7 per cent)," the report said.

While drowning accounts for 7.3 to 9.1 per cent of such fatalities, falls contribute 4.2 to 5.5 per cent, poisoning 5.6 per cent and burns 6.8 per cent, it added.

The report noted that despite efforts to improve road safety, India continues to grapple with a high number of fatalities due to road traffic injuries (RTIs).

The mortality ratio remains constant at approximately 86 per cent for males and 14 per cent for females.

"Over-speeding is the leading cause of these deaths, accounting for a staggering 75.2 per cent of fatalities. Other major contributing factors include driving on the wrong side of the road (5.8 per cent) and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (2.5 per cent).

"Analysis of RTIs reveals a significant disparity in mortality rates based on location. Rural areas bear the brunt of RTI fatalities, with a staggering 67.8 per cent of deaths occurring there compared to 32.2 per cent in urban areas. Furthermore, the data suggests that open areas and residential zones might be particularly dangerous, with potentially higher fatality rates compared to other locations," the report said.

National highways, which have a share of only 2.1 per cent of the total road length in the country, account for the maximum number of road fatalities and were responsible for 45 lives per 100 km in 2022.

The three-day conference is being hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, George Institute for Global Health in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and is co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Etienne Krug, Chair, International Organising Committee for World Conferences on Injury Prevention (IOC), WHO, highlighted the need for continued action to prevent road traffic deaths, falls and violence.

"The global injury and violence prevention community has made good progress in building evidence on what works to prevent road traffic deaths, falls and violence against children and women, among other injuries. However, injuries and violence still take the lives of around 4.4 million (44 lakh) people every year. Much more action is needed. Safety 2024 will be a unique opportunity for our community to share the latest knowledge and experiences and generate further momentum to save lives," he said.

Jagnoor Jagnoor, the head of Injury Programme at the George Institute of Global Health, said, "We must shift our focus from just changing human behaviour to adopting a comprehensive safe systems approach that includes safer roads and vehicles, with a strong emphasis on protecting our most vulnerable road users-pedestrians, motorised two-wheeler riders and cyclists." At the conference, international experts are uniting with a shared goal of "building a safer future for all: equitable and sustainable strategies for injury and violence prevention".

The conference will focus on five key themes -- improving coordination and collaboration among stakeholders, strengthening capacity for research and practice, integrating injury prevention with global health agendas such as sustainability and equity, empowering communities and promoting informed policymaking.