SRINAGAR: The Government has said that Jammu and Kashmir reported 28,510 road accidents between 2020 and 2024, resulting in 4,031 deaths, according to figures placed before Parliament. The data shows that the Union Territory continued to experience a high burden of crashes, with over-speeding remaining the dominant cause of both accidents and fatalities.
Across five years, the accident numbers rose from 4,860 in 2020 to 5,452 in 2021 and further to 6,092 in 2022. The highest count was recorded in 2023 with 6,298 cases, before declining to 5,808 in 2024. Fatalities followed a similar upward trajectory, beginning with 728 deaths in 2020, increasing to 774 in 2021, 805 in 2022, and reaching 893 in 2023, before settling at 831 in 2024.
The Government has said that over-speeding was the primary factor behind these incidents. Jammu and Kashmir registered 4,821 over-speeding accidents in 2020, 5,351 in 2021, 5,990 in 2022, 5,666 in 2023, and 5,367 in 2024. Corresponding fatalities were 727 in 2020, 772 in 2021, 797 in 2022, 854 in 2023, and 806 in 2024. The cumulative five-year toll shows that 27,195 of the total 28,510 accidents in Jammu and Kashmir were caused by over-speeding, resulting in 3,956 deaths.
Overloading and vehicle-hanging caused smaller but still significant numbers of crashes, rising from 207 cases in 2020 to 240 in 2021, 281 in 2022, 245 in 2023, and sharply to 361 in 2024. Fatalities linked to overloading and hanging increased from 37 in 2020 to 47 in 2021 and 45 in 2022, before climbing to 58 in 2023 and surging dramatically to 195 in 2024. Over the five-year period, 1,334 such cases led to 382 deaths.
The data also reflects continued non-compliance with basic safety measures. Deaths due to not wearing helmets stood at 63 in both 2020 and 2021, rose to 81 in 2022 and 84 in 2023, before dropping to 72 in 2024, contributing to a total of 290 deaths over five years. Fatalities due to not wearing seat belts were 96 in both 2020 and 2021, increased to 113 in 2022 and 117 in 2023, and declined to 92 in 2024, making up a total of 804 deaths during the period.
The Government has further stated that 460 accidents in the Union Territory between 2020 and 2024 involved drivers without valid driving licences. Year-wise, these incidents numbered 91 in 2020, 110 in 2021, 126 in 2022, 114 in 2023, and 101 in 2024.
To address such recurring patterns, the Government has said that it has been implementing measures under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, including increased penalties, computerised driver licensing and vehicle fitness tests, and closer monitoring of juvenile driving. The Ministry has said that road safety audits covering more than one lakh kilometres of National and State Highways have been completed between 2019-20 and 2024-25. The Government has also said that it is using the Electronic Detailed Accident Report platform, which integrates data from multiple national databases to identify blackspots, guide enforcement, and assist in targeted interventions. -(KL)
