Road accidents top cause for youth's, kids' death globally; India loses 1.5 m lives every year

New Delhi: Road accidents claim around 1.5 million lives in India every year, contributing 11 per cent to the total number of such fatalities globally, according to a FICCI-EY report.

Globally, at least one life is lost every 24 seconds due to road traffic injury, said the report released on Tuesday.

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), road crash is the 8th leading cause of death with more than 1.3 billion deaths and 50 million serious injuries. It is the leading cause of death amongst youth and kids aged 5 to 29 years, it said.

"1st rank in road fatalities is held by India (11 per cent share in the world). Every year India loses 1.5 million lives in road crashes...Every year we lose a number of people the size of the population of Estonia," the report titled 'Road Safety in India - Navigating through nuances' said.

India is a signatory to Brasilia Declaration which aims to half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030.

The report was released by Tukuni Sahu, Minister for Transport, Water Resources & Commerce, government of Odisha, in the national capital.

She emphasized the importance of collaboration between corporates and governments to achieve substantial progress in this segment. It is imperative that seat belts and helmets are utilised not only on highways but while driving within the cities, in order to ensure safety.

"Road safety is a shared responsibility, and it is crucial for corporates, policymakers, and citizens to come together and contribute to reducing road accidents and fatalities," Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Chair of the FICCI Forum of Parliamentarians, and Member of Parliament.

Amitabh Thakur, Odisha transport commissioner, said: "This conference on the role of corporates in road safety has provided a valuable opportunity for stakeholders to come together and share best practices. We encourage corporates to actively engage in road safety initiatives and work with the government to implement innovative solutions that can save lives on our roads."