Road accidents rise in Maharashtra for sixth year, fatalities dip slightly

Maharashtra has recorded an increase in road accidents and serious injuries for the sixth consecutive year although road deaths have shown a marginal decline officials said on Thursday reported the PTIThe figures are based on provisional accident data for 2025 released by the state transport departmentThe state reported 36450 road accidents in 2025 continuing the upward trend despite stricter enforcement measures The number of people seriously injured in accidents rose by eight per cent during the yearOfficial data shows that Maharashtra recorded 24971 road accidents in 2020 This number rose to 29477 in 2021 33383 in 2022 35243 in 2023 36110 in 2024 and further to 36450 in 2025 according to the PTIAfter a sharp decline in 2020 due to restrictions during the first wave of the Covid19 pandemic accident numbers have increased steadily every year sinceMaharashtra currently has a vehicular population of more than 45 croreDespite the rise in accidents the state managed to reduce road fatalities slightly in 2025 marking the first such decline since 2021In 2025 Maharashtra recorded 15549 deaths in 14440 fatal accidents compared with 15715 deaths in 14565 fatal accidents in 2024However the overall trend in fatalities has remained upward since 2020 when 11569 people lost their lives in road accidentsThe death toll increased to 13528 in 2021 15224 in 2022 15366 in 2023 and 15715 in 2024Transport dept credits safety measuresIn a release issued on January 22 Additional Transport Commissioner Bharat Kalaskar said the reduction of 166 deaths or 105 per cent in 2025 reflected the positive impact of continuous road safety measures taken by the transport department as per the PTIThe release said the state government has set a target of reducing road accidents by 50 per cent by the year 2030 Measures include the formation of road safety cells at both state and district levels among other initiativesSerious injuries remain major concernWhile fatalities declined slightly the number of serious injuries continued to rise Maharashtra recorded 23756 serious injuries in road accidents in 2025 up from 22051 in 2024The data shows a steady increase in serious injuries over the years 13971 in 2020 16073 in 2021 19540 in 2022 21446 in 2023 and 22051 in 2024Sanjay Sasane principal of the Institute of Driving Training and Research Society IDTRS in Pune said poor driver training is one of the major reasons for the rise in road accidentsHe pointed out that while motor vehicle rules prescribe a training syllabus for all drivers mandatory training currently applies only to commercial vehicle driversSasane a former RTO officer said that twowheelers and fourwheelers account for nearly 70 per cent of road accidents and vehicles on the road yet this segment receives limited attention the news agency reportedHe stressed the need for a proper training mechanism to educate drivers about traffic rules emergency vehicle control and hazard perception to improve road safetywith PTI inputs