Delhi: Around 83% percent of the total road accidents that happened in India in 2021 were related to not wearing seatbelts, said a report by the Union road transport and highways ministry.
The report stated that at least eight out of every 10 car occupants who were killed in accidents across India were not wearing seatbelts, with nearly 30% of the total accidents recorded on National Highways (NH).
UP reported the maximum number of deaths of car occupants for not wearing seatbelts at 3,863, followed by MP at 1,737 and Rajasthan at 1,370.
Among the two-wheeler riders, it was calculated that two out of every three riders (about 67%) who died in road crashes last year were not wearing helmets.
The ministry’s report also flagged serious concerns over how the number and share of two-wheeler riders and pedestrians getting killed in road crashes have increased over the past few years.
The report titled ‘Road Accidents in India 2021’, which is based on data provided by state police departments, has highlighted 16,397 out of the total 19,811 car occupants killed last year were not wearing seatbelts.
While 8,438 of such victims were drivers and the remaining 7,965 were passengers, the data remained insignificant in identifying how many of those killed for not wearing seatbelts were rear-seat passengers.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) data said that the use of seat belts can reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by half while using properly strapped full-face covering helmets can reduce fatal injuries of two-wheeler riders by up to 64% and brain injuries by up to 74%.
In cases of pedestrian deaths, the number increased to 29,124 last year with 9,462 of these fatalities reported on the NH network.
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