72,300 people killed in highway accidents in 2007: Govt

As many as 72,300 people were killed and 2,89,139 injured in road accidents on state and national highways across the country in 2007 as per the latest data available,the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

“The average number of persons killed and injured per day on state and national highways work out to 198 and 792 respectively,” Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Mahadeo Singh Khandela said in a written reply.

He said the number of fatalities is on the rise on national highways. The total number of deaths on national highways rose from 34,723 in 2004 to 40,612 in 2007.

Similarly,the number of accidents on national highways jumped from 92,618 in 2004 to 1,14,444 in 2007,the Minister said replying to another question.