Maharashtra records over 95 700 road deaths since 2019 no sign of dip in fatalities

Mumbai, Nov 14 (PTI) A staggering 95,722 people have been killed in road accidents in Maharashtra between January 2019 and September 2025, pointing to a problem that has yet to ease, official data shows.
According to accident statistics sourced from the Maharashtra transport department, the state recorded 26,922 road accidents and 11,532 fatalities in the first three quarters of this calendar year, compared to 26,719 accidents and 11,573 deaths in the corresponding period last year.
In the latest deadly accident, eight persons were killed and 14 others injured after a car got crushed between two large container trucks, with a huge fire engulfing all three vehicles on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune on Thursday evening.
In the six years leading up to September 30 this year, Maharashtra recorded 2,19,039 road accidents that claimed 95,722 lives, left 1,29,670 people seriously injured, and caused minor injuries to 53,036 others.
While last year saw 15,715 fatalities in 36,118 crashes, the data shows, 11,532 persons have lost their lives in 26,922 accidents till September this year.
At the national level, India lost 1,72,890 lives in road accidents in 2023. Maharashtra ranked third with 15,366 deaths that year, behind Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, according to figures shared by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Weak enforcement, reckless driving, inadequate training and overloaded vehicles are among the reasons usually cited by experts for India’s high road deaths.
In the past six years, the number of accidents and fatalities in the state dipped only in 2020 due to pandemic-related restrictions on vehicular movement. Since then, both figures have risen steadily despite efforts by authorities to curb road deaths.
Between January and September this year, Washim district reported a 37 per cent rise in road accidents compared to the same period last year, followed by Dharashiv (27 per cent), Solapur city (26 per cent) and Sangli (25 per cent).
Road deaths went up by 59 per cent in the Buldhana district in the first nine months of this year, followed by Sangli (54 per cent), Solapur city (50 per cent), Latur (33 per cent), Bhandara (33 per cent), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural (29 per cent) and Amravati (25 per cent).
Among the state's districts and major cities, Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, witnessed the highest 1,878 accidents between January and September this year. Nashik Rural topped the fatality list with 656 road deaths.
The rapid rise in the number of two-wheelers on Indian roads has heightened safety risks, with lax enforcement of helmet rules worsening fatalities, Pune-based NGP Parisar project director Ranjit Gadgil said.
The surge in deaths on national highways is attributed to expanding high-speed corridors, increasing traffic and speeds unsafe for prevailing road conditions, he pointed out.
Gadgil said police are failing to enforce speed limits, seat-belt norms and drunken-driving checks.
Pedestrian deaths remain high due to poor road design and lack of safe crossings despite mandatory standards and audit requirements being ignored, he added.
"In the short run, the only effective remedy is strict enforcement - lower speed limits, compulsory helmets and seat-belts, and zero tolerance for drunk driving. Road design and maintenance must improve, but that will take time," Gadgil asserted.
Speaking on the issue, Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said, "It is unfortunate. This is a terrible reality (rising accidents and fatalities) and we cannot deny it."
Authorities have sent a proposal to the government for all possible facilities, including air ambulance, to ensure the lives of road accident victims can be saved, Sarnaik informed.
Not even one life should be lost in road accidents, the minister said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)