Road accidents leading cause of death in young Indian males

Of the total 219,000 road injury deaths in India in 2017, 77% were in males with the death rate three times higher compared to females. Road Injury death rate in males varied 3 fold across the states of India with the highest rates in the states of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The highest road injury death rates among females were in the states of Manipur, Jharkhand and Punjab.

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Prof Balram Bhargav, secretary, department of health research, and DG, ICMR said, “The number of deaths due to road injury in India is quite high. This research paper focuses on providing reliable and comprehensive data in the Indian context to inform and monitor progress to reduce the burden of road injury deaths. Comprehensive findings on road injuries from this study will not only facilitate effective road safety management but would also aid in building effective road injury prevention policies, evidence-based interventions and increase surveillance of road injuries at the state-level after diagnosing and analysing the causes of injuries. Efforts must be taken at all levels to reduce the burden from road injury deaths that our country is facing.”

Motorcyclist and cyclist road injury death rates were 69% and 33% higher in India compared to the global average. Pedestrian road injury deaths were highest among older adults in India.

The road traffic injury death rate was relatively higher in the less developed states compared to more developed states. This rate reduced significantly in more developed states from 1990 to 2017 but did not change in the less developed states.

Prof Rakhi Dandona, Professor at the Public Health Foundation of India said, “India had 2.2 lakh deaths due to road injuries in 2017. Rapid urbanisation and economic growth in India has led to substantial increases in vehicle density and traffic mix but the infrastructure and levels of traffic law enforcement are struggling to keep pace with it, resulting in increased number of road injury deaths. Road injury needs multi-sectorial action across three levels—to prevent crashes from occurring, to prevent injury if a crash occurs, and then to prevent death or disability among those injured. For this to happen, we need to move from the fatalistic attitude conveyed by ‘accident’ to prevent this needless loss of lives. Road safety for pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists needs to be prioritised to ensure that the youth of our country do not face untimely death.”

The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative is a collaborative effort between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and a number of other key stakeholders in India, including academic experts and institutions, government agencies and other organizations, under the aegis of the ministry of health & family welfare.