Road crashes killed a record 1.8 lakh in 2025; 502 people daily
Road accident fatalities in India reached a record 1.8 lakh in 2025, with a 3.5% increase in deaths despite government safety initiatives. The data highlights the persistence of 'black corridors' on national highways as a major safety concern.
Why it matters
The rising death toll suggests that current infrastructure and safety strategies are failing to keep pace with traffic growth.
Road crashes claimed a little over 1.8 lakh lives in 2025, translating into 502 deaths per day, which is the maximum since govt started collating data. While the highest increase in such fatalities was reported in Uttar Pradesh -- from 24,118 in 2024 to 27,550 last year -- Punjab saw a major dip in road deaths -- from 4,759 in 2024 to 3,062 last year.Data that the road transport ministry provided to Lok Sabha on Thursday show that road crashes shot up by 5.3% to over 5.1 lakh in 2025 and fatalities increased by 3.5%. Ministry’s written reply indicates that 18 states and UTs saw a rise in road deaths in 2025 while 17 others reported a decline.
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