CHAPTER – 1

ACCIDENTAL DEATHS IN INDIA

Incidence and Rate of Accidental Deaths
During the Decade (1994-2004)
The incidence of accidental deaths has shown
a mixed trend during the decade 1994-2004
with an increase of over 45.6 per cent in the
year 2004 as compared to 1994. The
population growth during the corresponding
period was 20.6 per cent whereas the
increase in the rate of accidental deaths
during the same period was 20.5 per cent.
The percentage change of accidental deaths
are presented in Table-1.1.
A total of 2,77,263 accidental deaths were
reported in the country during 2004 (17638
more than such deaths reported in 2003)
showing an increase of 6.8 per cent as
compared to previous year. Correspondingly,
1.6 per cent increase in the population and
4.9 per cent increase in the rate of Accidental
Deaths were reported during this year as
compared to previous year [Table 1(A)].

Table — 1 (A)

Percentage change in Population, Incidence and Rate of Accidental

Deaths over the corresponding previous year during 2000 to 2004

Percentage Change in
Percentage Change in Percentage Change in
Rate of Accidental
Year Population over the Accidental Deaths over
Deaths over the previous
Previous Year the Previous Year
Year
(1) (2) (3) (4)

2000 1.6 – 5.9 – 7.4

2001 2.5 5.9 3.4

2002 2.3 – 4.0 – 6.2

2003 1.7 – 0.2 – 1.9

2004 1.6 6.8 4.9

(1)
 Figure 1.1

Percentage Change in Population, Incidence and Rate of Accidental Deaths

During 2000-2004 (Over Corresponding Previous Year)
8.0
5.9 6.8
6.0 4.9

4.0 3.4
2.5 2.3
1.6 1.7 1.6
2.0
Percentage

0.0
-0.2
-2.0
-1.9
-4.0
-4.0
-6.0
-5.9 -6.2
-8.0 -7.4
-10.0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Year

Population Incidence Rate

2,58,326 (93.2%) deaths were due to un-
natural causes and the rest 6.8% deaths
(18,937) were due to causes attributable to
nature, out of total 2,77,263 accidental deaths
during the year 2004. There was an increase of
26.6% in deaths due to causes attributable to
nature and an increase of 5.6 per cent in
deaths due to un-natural causes as compared
to 2003, resulting in an overall increase of
accidental deaths by 6.8 per cent [Table 1(B)].

Table — 1 (B)
Incidence of Accidental Deaths by Natural & Un-Natural Causes
(2000 to 2004)

Year Causes Attributable to Nature Un-Natural Causes Total Accidental Deaths

Incidence % change Incidence % change Incidence % change

over previous over over
year previous previous
year year
(2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

2000 17,366 – 36.9 2,38,517 – 2.4 2,55,883 – 5.9

2001 36,651 111.1 2,34,368 – 1.7 2,71,019 5.9

2002 16,723 – 54.4 2,43,399 5.6 2,60,122 – 4.0

2003 14,954 – 10.6 2,44,671 – 1.1 2,59,625 – 0.2

2004 18,937 26.6 2,58,326 5.6 2,77,263 6.8

(2)
 Figure 1.2

Incidence of Accidental Deaths By Natural and Un-Natural Causes

(2000-2004)
300000

250000

200000
Incidence

234368

258326
247486

244671
238517
150000

100000

50000

36651
17366 16723 14954 18937
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Year

CAUSES ATTRIBUTABLE TO NATURE UNNATURAL CAUSES

Incidence & Rate of Accidental Deaths in States,
UTs and Cities (Table 1.2)
Maharashtra has reported 51,504 accidental
deaths out of 2,77,263 such deaths in the
country during the year and remained at the top
with nearly one fifth (18.6%) of total accidental
deaths reported in the country. On the other
hand, Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State
in the country with population share of 16.4%,
has accounted for 8.7% of accidental deaths
and stood at 3rd position after Maharashtra
(18.6%) and Madhya Pradesh (9.2%). The
States of Andhra Pradesh (7.9%) and
Rajasthan (6.3%) have also reported significant
shares of deaths due to accidents during 2004.

Figure 1.3

Percentage Share of Major States in Accidental Deaths

during 2004
Others
Maharashtra
18.5%
18.6%

Orissa
3.0%
Madhya Pradesh
Chhattisgarh
9.2%
4.1%

West Bengal
4.5%

Uttar Pradesh
Karnataka
8.7%
5.6%

Gujarat
Andhra Pradesh
6.2%
Rajasthan Tamil Nadu 7.9%
6.3% 7.3%

(3)
The highest rate of accidental deaths was Deaths’ than the All-India average of 25.5
reported from A & N Islands (484.2) followed deaths per one lakh of population. The
by Pondicherry (122.0) against the National grouping of the States/UTs as more accident
average rate of 25.5. prone and less accident prone on the basis
of their rates of accidental deaths vis-a-vis
13 States & 6 UTs have constituted high risk the All-India average rate is presented in
areas reporting higher rates of ‘Accidental Table – 1(C).

Table — 1 (C)
State/UT-wise Rate of Accidental Deaths in Comparison to All India (Rate)
More Accident Prone Less Accident Prone
Rate Rate
Sl. No. States / UTs Sl. No. States / UTs
(more than 25.5) (less than 25.5)
1. A & N ISLANDS 484.2 1. KERALA 24.5
2. PONDICHERRY 122.0 2. PUNJAB 23.6
3. D & N HAVELI 77.7 3. ORISSA 21.6
4. GOA 76.0 4. TRIPURA 19.5
5. CHHATTISGARH 51.0 5. UTTARANCHAL 19.2
6. DAMAN & DIU 50.9 6. JAMMU & KASHMIR 17.9
7. MAHARASHTRA 50.6 7. WEST BENGAL 14.8
8. DELHI (UT) 45.3 8. MIZORAM 14.4
9. MADHYA PRADESH 39.5 9. UTTAR PRADESH 13.6
10. CHANDIGARH 37.1 10. MEGHALAYA 10.5
11. HARYANA 34.9 11. ASSAM 10.4
12. SIKKIM 33.6 12. MANIPUR 8.5
13. GUJARAT 32.3 13. BIHAR 6.5
14. TAMIL NADU 31.5 14. JHARKHAND 5.6
15. HIMACHAL PRADESH 31.3 15. NAGALAND 3.9
16. RAJASTHAN 28.9 16. LAKSHADWEEP 0.0
17. KARNATAKA 28.4
18. ANDHRA PRADESH 27.9
19. ARUNACHAL PRADESH 26.8

Figure 1.4
Rate of Accidental Deaths in Various States / UTs
WEST BENGAL 14.8
UTTARANCHAL 19.2
UTTAR PRADESH 13.6
TRIPURA 19.5
TAMIL NADU 31.5
SIKKIM 33.6
RAJASTHAN 28.9
PUNJAB 23.6
PONDICHERRY 122.0
ORISSA 21.6
NAGALAND 3.9
MIZORAM 14.4
States / UTs

MEGHALAYA 10.5
MANIPUR 8.5
MAHARASHTRA 50.6
MADHYA PRADESH 39.5
LAKSHADWEEP 0.0
KERALA 24.5
KARNATAKA 28.4
JHARKHAND 5.6
JAMMU & KASHMIR 17.9
HIMACHAL PRADESH 31.3
HARYANA 34.9
GUJARAT 32.3
GOA 76.0
DELHI 45.3
DAMAN & DIU 50.9
D & N HAVELI 77.7
CHHATTISGARH 51.0
CHANDIGARH 37.1
BIHAR 6.5
ASSAM 10.4
ARUNACHAL PRADESH 26.8
ANDHRA PRADESH 27.9
A & N ISLANDS 484.2

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 160.0 180.0 200.0
National Average 25.5
Rate

(4)
The incidence of Accidental Deaths has
increased by 6.8 per cent at National level
during 2004 as compared to 2003. A & N
Islands reported a major increase of 1005.4 per
cent (from 166 deaths in 2003 to 1,835 deaths
in 2004) followed by Tripura 186.0 per cent
(228 deaths in 2003 to 652 deaths in 2004)
while Lakshadweep has shown a decline of 100
per cent during 2004 as compared to 2003 (3 in
2003 to nil in 2004). [Table (1.3)]
Males, accounting for 75.8 per cent of total
victims, were at a greater risk from accidents
than females. Though the children’s population
(up to 14 years age) as per census 2001 was
30.4 per cent of the total population, accidental
deaths of children accounted for 7.7 per cent of
total such deaths.
Most of the victims of accidents were aged
between 15 to 44 years. This group of people
has accounted for nearly two-third (60.5%) of
all persons killed in accidents in country during
the year. [Table (1.4)]
Causes of Accidental Deaths — [Table 1(D)]
The percentage of ‘Accidental Deaths’ due to
causes attributable to nature and those due to
Percentage Share of Various Causes of Accidental Deaths During 2004
(Natural and Un-Natural Causes)
By Other Un-Natural
Causes
8.5%
By Electrocution
2.4%
By Falls
3.3%
By Causes Not Known
5.4%
By Causes Attributable
to Nature
6.8%
By Fire
By Sudden Deaths
6.7%
Un-Natural Causes were 6.8% and 93.2%
respectively. The magnitude of ‘Accidental
Deaths’ by causes attributable to nature has
increased by 26.6% and that of deaths by Un-
Natural Causes has increased by 5.6 per cent
during 2004 over the year 2003.
The share of accidental deaths due to causes
attributable to Nature has increased from 5.8
per cent in 2003 to 6.8% in 2004. Share of
deaths due to Un-natural causes has increased
from 94.2% to 99.5% in 2004 over 2003. The
share of deaths due to causes attributable to
Nature such as ‘Cyclone / Tornado’, and 'Flood'
and Un-Natural Causes such as 'Drowning',
'Fire Arms', ‘Sudden Deaths’, 'Poisoning',
'Suffocation', and 'Traffic Accidents' has
increased. The same has decreased due to
causes attributable to Nature such as ‘Cold &
Exposure’ etc. and Un-Natural causes such as
‘Collapsed Structure’, ‘Explosion’, ‘Falls’ and
‘Fire’ etc.
The average rate of Accidental Deaths has
marginally increased from 24.3 in 2003 to
25.5 in 2004.
Figure 1.5
By Road Accident
35.2%
By Rail-Road & Other
Railway Accident
7.9%
By Poisoning
8.5%
By Drowning
8.2%
7.1%
(5)
 Table — 1 (D)
Incidence, Share & Rate of Accidental Deaths By Causes Attributable to Nature
and Un-Natural Causes
During 2003 & 2004
2003 2004 % variation
of
Sl. % share % share
Cause incidence in
No. No. (w.r.t. Rate No. (w.r.t. Rate 2004
All India) All India) over 2003
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
A. CAUSES ATTRIBUTABLE TO NATURE:
1 Avalanche 70 – – 9 – – – 87.1
2 Cold and Exposure 835 0.3 0.1 570 0.2 0.1 – 31.7
3 Cyclone/Tornado 120 – – 1512 0.5 0.1 1160.0
4 Starvation/Thirst 230 0.1 – 134 – – – 41.7
5 Earthquake 6 – – 44 – – 633.3
6 Epidemic 78 – – 69 – – – 11.5
7 Flood 453 0.2 – 754 0.3 0.1 66.4
8 Heat Stroke 807 0.3 0.1 756 0.3 0.1 – 6.3
9 Landslide 334 0.1 – 357 0.1 – 6.9
10 Lightning 1792 0.7 0.2 1842 0.7 0.2 2.8
11 Torrential Rains 257 0.1 – 133 – – – 48.2
12 Other causes attributable to nature 9972 3.8 0.9 12757 4.6 1.2 27.9
Total (A) 14954 5.8 1.4 18937 6.8 1.7 26.6
B. UN-NATURAL CAUSES
1 Air-Crash 51 – – 23 – – – 54.9
2 Collapse of Structure: 2376 0.9 0.2 2169 0.8 0.2 – 8.7
(i) House 814 0.3 0.1 788 0.3 0.1 – 3.2
(ii) Building 243 0.1 – 184 0.1 – – 24.3
(iii)Dam 32 – – 25 – – – 21.9
(iv) Bridge 55 – – 31 – – – 43.6
(v) Others 1232 0.5 0.1 1141 0.4 0.1 – 7.4
3 Drowning: 20960 8.1 2.0 21190 8.2 2.0 1.1
(i) Boat Capsize 765 0.3 0.1 562 0.2 0.1 – 26.5
(ii) Other Cases 20195 7.8 1.9 20628 7.9 1.9 2.1
4 Electrocution: 6336 2.4 0.6 6224 2.4 0.6 – 1.8
5 Explosion: 722 0.3 0.1 601 0.2 0.1 – 16.8
(i) Bomb explosion 288 0.1 – 260 0.1 – – 9.7
(ii) Other explosion (Boilers etc.) 434 0.2 – 341 0.1 – – 21.4
6 Falls: 8800 3.4 0.8 8448 3.3 0.8 – 4.0
(i) Fall from Height 7378 2.8 0.7 7108 2.7 0.7 – 3.7
(ii) Fall into Pit/Manhole etc. 1422 0.5 0.1 1340 0.5 0.1 – 5.8
7 Factory/Machine Accidents 712 0.3 0.1 715 0.3 0.1 0.4
8 Fire: 19278 7.4 1.8 18445 7.1 1.7 – 4.3
(i) Fireworks/Crackers 288 0.1 – 213 0.1 – – 26.0
(ii) Short– Circuit 993 0.4 0.1 1038 0.4 0.1 4.5
(iii) Gas Cylinder/Stove Burst 3625 1.4 0.3 3357 1.3 0.3 – 7.4
(iv) Other Fire Accidents 14372 5.5 1.3 13837 5.3 1.3 – 3.7
9 Fire-Arms 1993 0.8 0.2 2283 0.9 0.2 14.6
10 Sudden Deaths: 16749 6.5 1.6 17413 6.7 1.6 4.0
(i) Heart Attacks 10208 3.9 1.0 10870 4.2 1.0 6.5
(ii) Epileptic Fits/Giddiness 2582 1.0 0.2 2521 1.0 0.2 – 2.4
(iii) Abortions/Child Birth 636 0.2 0.1 692 0.3 0.1 8.8
(iv) Influence of Alcohol 3323 1.3 0.3 3330 1.3 0.3 0.2
11 Killed by animals 798 0.3 0.1 788 0.3 0.1 – 1.3
12 Mines or quary disaster 550 0.2 0.1 456 0.2 – – 17.1
13 Poisoning: 21172 8.2 2.0 22035 8.5 2.1 4.1
(i) Food Poisoning/Accidental Intake of
8046 3.1 0.8 8049 3.1 0.8 –
Insectide
(ii) Spurious/poisonous liquor 513 0.2 – 653 0.3 0.1 27.3
(iii) Leakage of poisonous gases Etc. 143 0.1 – 171 0.1 – 19.6
(iv) Snake Bite/Animal Bite 6097 2.3 0.6 6218 2.4 0.6 2.0
(v) Other 6373 2.5 0.6 6944 2.7 0.7 9.0
14 Stampede 83 – – 31 – – – 62.7
15 Suffocation 1144 0.4 0.1 1218 0.5 0.1 6.5
16 Traffic Accidents: 102951 39.7 9.6 111794 43.1 10.5 8.6
(i) Road Accidents 84430 32.5 7.9 91376 35.2 8.6 8.2
(ii) Rail-Road Accidents 1180 0.5 0.1 2276 0.9 0.2 92.9
(iii) Other Railway Accidents 17341 6.7 1.6 18142 7.0 1.7 4.6
17 Other Causes 27591 10.6 2.6 30409 11.7 2.8 10.2
18 Causes Not Known 12405 4.8 1.2 14084 5.4 1.3 13.5
Total (B) 244671 94.2 22.9 258326 99.5 24.2 5.6
Grand Total (A+B) 259625 100.0 24.3 277263 100.0 25.5 6.8
Note : — (dash) stands for very negligible figure (less than 0.1)

(6)
Causes Attributable to Nature
The age group-wise distribution of accidental
deaths by causes attributable to nature is given
in Table 1.5. Nearly 69.2 per cent victims of
causes attributable to nature were males. Age-
wise, nearly 10.2 per cent were under 14 years
of age while 51.1 per cent were in the age-
group of 15-44 years. Senior citizens (60 yrs.
and above) constituted 16.2 per cent of the
total victims.
Nearly 11 per cent deaths were reported from
each States of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan
followed by A & N Islands (8.2%) and Tamil
Nadu (8.1%) (Table 1.10). The reasons for all
accidental deaths in Goa and Nagaland could
not be specified. 28.6% deaths in Sikkim and
16.5% deaths in Punjab were due to 'Cold and
Exposure' only. 92.2% deaths in A & N Islands
were due to ‘Cyclone/Tornado’. More than two-
third deaths in Assam and 23.7% deaths in
Bihar were due to Floods, while 30.3 per cent
deaths in Madhya Pradesh and 11.2% deaths
in Maharashtra were due to ‘Heat Stroke’
alone. All the deaths (2 deaths) under causes
attributable to Nature in Mizoram were due to
‘Landslide’. 67% deaths in Maharashtra and
57.1% deaths in Sikkim were due to 'Lightning'.
No deaths have been taking place in
Lakshadweep and Pondicherry due to causes
attributable to Nature.
Un-natural Causes
It is generally accepted that accidents due to
‘Un-Natural Causes’ are preventable in nature
and can be reduced by effective safety
measures – safety consciousness, effective
human interventions, etc. A total of 5,36,762
cases of ‘Un-Natural Accidents’ caused
2,58,326 deaths and rendered 4,31,712
people injured during 2004 (Table- 1.6).
Maharashtra accounting for 9.4 % (one-
eleventh) of country’s population has reported
more than one fifth (19.7%) of accidental
deaths due to unnatural causes. Madhya
Pradesh accounting for only 5.9% of the
country’s population has reported 9.7 per cent
of such deaths (Table-1.11).
The age-group-wise distribution of Accidental
Deaths in the country by various Un-Natural
Causes along with their share in total deaths is
presented in Table 1.7. The ‘Accidental Deaths’
due to Un-Natural Causes were mainly on
(7)
account of ‘Road Accidents’ (35.2%),
‘Poisoning’ (8.5%), ‘Drowning’ (8.2%), Railway
Accidents and Rail-Road accidents (7.9%),
‘Fire Accidents’ (7.1%) and ‘Sudden Deaths’
(6.7%).
The number of cases of Un-natural accidents at
the National level has increased by 6.7 per cent
(from 5,02,835 in 2003 to 5,36,762 in 2004) as
compared to previous year. The number of
persons injured has increased by 8.6 per cent
(from 3,97,772 in 2003 to 4,31,712 in 2004)
and the number of persons killed in these
accidents has also increased by 5.6 per cent
(from 2,44,671 in 2003 to 2,58,326 in 2004).
The deaths due to ‘Rail-Road Accident’ have
increased by 92.9 per cent from 1180 deaths in
2003 to 2276 deaths in 2004, while cases of
stampede has decreased by 61.4 per cent from
70 in 2003 to 27 in 2004 [Table (1.6)].
The proportion of male injured and killed due to
un-natural causes in the country was 81.8 per
cent and 76.3 per cent respectively of the total
deaths (Table-1.11). 95.9 per cent of injuries
and 35.4 per cent of deaths were due to Road
Accidents only at the National level. Males out-
numbered females in all kinds of accidental
casualties except ‘Fire Accidents’ where 67.4
per cent females were killed in these accidents
compared to 32.6 per cent males. [Table (1.7)]
The cause-wise analysis of un-natural deaths
revealed that 82.9 per cent deaths in Nagaland
were due to ‘Road Accidents’, 21.4 per cent
deaths in Pondicherry were attributed as
Sudden Deaths, 13.7 per cent deaths in
Gujarat were due to ‘Fire Accidents’, 14.1 per
cent deaths in Sikkim were due to ‘Falls’, 19.4
per cent deaths in Goa were due to ‘Drowning’,
28.3 per cent deaths in Tripura were due to
Accidental Poisoning and 5.2% deaths in
Manipur were due to Electrocution, making
some States/UTs prone to that specific cause.
Reasons for 44.2% deaths in Pondicherry could
not be specified [Table (1.11)].
The major un-natural causes of Accidental
Deaths were (i) Road Accidents (35.2%) (ii)
Poisoning (8.5%) (iii) Drowning (8.2%) (iv)
Railway Accidents (7.9%) and (v) Fire (7.1%).
The details of States and UTs categorized as
high prone areas (percentage share exceeding
the All-India share) on the basis of the
percentage share of deaths on these counts,
are presented in Table 1 (E).
 Table – 1 (E)
High Prone areas on the basis of Percentage share of deaths
due to unnatural causes (Road Accidents and Poisoning) during 2004

High Prone Areas

Road Accident Deaths Poisoning
Sl. No. All-India Percentage Share = 35.4% Sl. No. All-India Percentage Share = 8.5%
State/UT %Share State/UT %Share

1. Nagaland 82.9 1. Tripura 28.3

2. Arunachal Pradesh 66.5 2. Sikkim 17.9

3. Uttaranchal 57.6 3. Madhya Pradesh 16.5

4. Manipur 56.1 4. Orissa 15.7

5. Meghalaya 54.7 5. West Bengal 13.1

6. Jammu & Kashmir 53.2 6. Chhattisgarh 12.6

7. Himachal Pradesh 52.1 7. Punjab 12.4

8. Andhra Pradesh 51.8 8. Karnataka 11.3

9. Tamil Nadu 50.9 9. Himachal Pradesh 10.8

10. Mizoram 50.4 10. Haryana 10.3

11. Jharkhand 47.0 11. Bihar 10.1

12. Uttar Pradesh 46.0 12. Rajasthan 8.5

13. Karnataka 43.7

14. Haryana 43.2

15. Bihar 43.1

16. Rajasthan 42.1

17. Kerala 40.8

18. Chandigarh 40.6

19. Assam 40.6

20. Tripura 40.0

21. West Bengal 38.7

22. Goa 37.3

23. D & N Haveli 36.5

(8)
 Table – 1 (F)

High Prone areas on the basis of Percentage share of deaths

due to unnatural causes (Drowning and Fire) during 2004

High Prone Areas

Deaths due to Drowning Fire
Sl. No.
All-India Percentage Share = 8.2% Sl. No. All-India Percentage Share = 7.1%
State/UT %Share State/UT %Share

1. ASSAM 11.2 1. GUJARAT 13.7

2. CHHATTISGARH 13.1 2. JHARKHAND 9.1

3. GOA 19.4 3. KARNATAKA 8.1

4. GUJARAT 8.7 4. MADHYA PRADESH 7.5

5. KARNATAKA 10.0 5. MAHARASHTRA 9.2

6. KERALA 17.5 6. TAMIL NADU 9.6

7. MADHYA PRADESH 14.3 7. A & N ISLANDS 8.1

8. MAHARASHTRA 9.3 8. DAMAN & DIU 11.5

9. MIZORAM 15.8 9. DELHI (UT) 7.3

10. RAJASTHAN 8.8

11. TRIPURA 15.4

12. A & N ISLANDS 11.9

13. DAMAN & DIU 14.1

Table – 1 (G)
High Prone areas on the basis of Percentage share of deaths
due to unnatural causes (Rail Road & Railways Accidents) during 2004

High Prone Areas

Rail Road & Railways Accidental Deaths

Sl. No.
All-India Percentage Share = 7.9%

State/UT %Share

1. ASSAM 16.0

2. BIHAR 18.8

3. HARYANA 17.4

4. JHARKHAND 11.1

5. MAHARASHTRA 9.7

6. PUNJAB 13.5

7. UTTAR PRADESH 13.9

8. WEST BENGAL 20.4

9. DELHI (UT) 12.5

(9)
Traffic Accidents
Traffic Accidents comprising of (i) Road
Accidents (ii) Rail-Road Accidents and (iii)
Other Railway Accidents were the major
contributors of accidental deaths by Un-
natural causes. ‘Road Accidents’ in the
country have increased by 7.4 per cent during
2004 compared to 2003 [Table (1.6)]. There
has been proportionate increase of 8.6% in the
casualties in Road Accidents in the country
during 2004 as compared to 2003. Their
proportion in total deaths due to Un-natural
causes, also increase slightly to 35.2 in 2004.
The following statistics reveal the growing
magnitude of ‘Road Accident Deaths’
[Table 1(H)].

Table – 1 (H)

Share of ‘Road Accident Deaths’ in Total ‘Accidental Deaths’

by Un-natural Causes during 2000 to 2004

Sl. Year % share in Un-Natural

Number of Accidental Deaths
No. Total Deaths
On Road Total Un-natural

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

1. 2000 80,118 2,38,517 33.6

2. 2001 80,262 2,34,368 34.2

3. 2002 84,059 2,43,399 34.5

4. 2003 84,430 2,44,671 34.5

5. 2004 91,376 2,58,326 35.2

A total of 3,84,523 ‘Traffic Accidents’ were
reported during the year comprising of 3,61,343
‘Road Accidents’ 2,583 ‘Rail-Road Accidents’
and 20,597 ‘Other Railway Accident’. These
accidents caused 91,376, 2276 and 18,142
deaths respectively during the year
[Table (1.6)].
Road Accident Deaths
The number of vehicles, number of road
accidents along with casualties & injuries
therein, their percentage variations over
previous year and the rate of accidental deaths
per thousand vehicles during the last five years
are presented in Table – 1(I). It is observed
that the rate of deaths per thousand vehicles
has increased marginally from 1.3 in 2000 to
1.4 in 2004 though the number of vehicles in
the country and the quantum of ‘Road
Accidents’ have increased.
Railway Accident & Rail-Road Accidents
2583 cases of Rail-road accidents were
reported during the year 2004 which accounted
for 69.4% increases over 2003 where 1525
cases were reported. The cases of deaths due
to Rail-Road accidents have increased by
92.9% from 1180 cases in 2003 to 2276 in
2004. Out of 2276 deaths, 1876 were male and
400 were female victims (Table – 1.6). In the
first quarter of the year 2004 699 cases were
reported which accounted for 27.0% of the total
Rail-Road accidents during the year while in
2003 391 cases were reported in the same
quarter (Table – 1.9).

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 Table – 1 (I)

Growth in no. of Vehicles and Road Accidents in India (2000-2004)

Sl. Year Road % Persons % Persons % No. of % Rate of

No. Accidents variation injured (in variation killed variation vehicles variation Deaths per
(in over thousand) over (in nos.) over (in over thousand
thousand) previous previous previous thousand) previous Vehicles
year Year Year Year (Col.7/
Col.9)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

1. 2000 308.3 0.6 340.2 4.8 80,118 – 1.1 48,857 8.9 1.6

2. 2001 323.7 5.0 353.1 3.8 80,262 0.2 54,991 12.6 1.5

3. 2002 335.7 3.7 388.9 10.1 84059 4.7 58,863 7.0 1.4

4. 2003 336.4 2.0 382.9 – 1.5 84,430 0.4 66,289 12.6 1.3

5. 2004 361.3 7.4 413.9 8.1 91,376 8.2 66,289* – 1.4

Source : For Col.9, Motor Transport Statistics of India-2002-2003, Transport Research Wing, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, New Delhi.
* : data for the year 2003 is repeated in 2004 also due to non availability.

Incidence of Death of Rail-Road Accidents & Other Railway Accidents

(2000-2004)
25000

20000

15000
Incidence

18142
17076
10000 16638 16888 17341

5000

1282 2178 1180 2276

0 1011
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Year

rail road accidents other railway accidents

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 Table — 1 (J)
Incidence and Rate of Deaths Due to Road Accidents During 2004
(State, UT & City-wise)
Sl. State/UT No. of cases of Total Registered No. of deaths Rate of Rate of Deaths
No. Road Accidents Motor Vehicles due to Road Accidental per 100 cases
as on Accidents in Deaths per 000’ (Col.5/Col.3)
31.03.2003 2004 vehicles ×100
(in 000’) (Col.5 / Col.4)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
STATES:
1 ANDHRA PRADESH 37078 5011 10960 2.2 29.6
2 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 217 21* 181 8.6 83.4
3 ASSAM 2002 596$ 1012 1.7 50.5
4 BIHAR 3890 1121 2099 1.9 54.0
5 CHHATTISGARH 6075 1076 2250 2.1 37.0
6 GOA 1542 397 319 0.8 20.7
7 GUJARAT 18478 6508 4948 0.8 26.8
8 HARYANA 7908 2249 3253 1.4 41.1
9 HIMACHAL PRADESH 2515 268 934 3.5 37.1
10 JAMMU & KASHMIR 6281 398 969 2.4 15.4
11 JHARKHAND 1295 984$ 614 0.6 47.4
12 KARNATAKA 38751 3738 6481 1.7 16.7
13 KERALA 41103 2315$ 3154 1.4 7.7
14 MADHYA PRADESH 23591 3460 4916 1.4 20.8
15 MAHARASHTRA 44539 8134 10605 1.3 23.8
16 MANIPUR 468 97 119 1.2 25.4
17 MEGHALAYA 328 73 128 1.8 39.0
18 MIZORAM 38 37 67 1.8 176.3
19 NAGALAND 68 187 63 0.3 92.6
20 ORISSA 7278 1360 2472 1.8 34.0
21 PUNJAB 2036 3308 1855 0.6 91.1
22 RAJASTHAN 23243 3488 6477 1.9 27.9
23 SIKKIM 159 14 51 3.6 32.1
24 TAMIL NADU 52508 8005 9507 1.2 18.1
25 TRIPURA 645 57$ 179 3.1 27.8
26 UTTAR PRADESH 14374 5928 10182 1.7 70.8
27 UTTARANCHAL 1252 447 931 2.1 74.4
28 WEST BENGAL 12152 2366 4269 1.8 35.1
TOTAL (STATES): 349814 61643 88995 1.4 25.4
UNION TERRITORIES:
29 A & N ISLANDS 215 28$ 15 0.5 7.0
30 CHANDIGARH 411 386** 147 0.4 35.8
31 D & N HAVELI 111 13* 54 4.2 48.6
32 DAMAN & DIU 47 44 24 0.5 51.1
33 DELHI (UT) 9110 3877$ 1961 0.5 21.5
34 LAKSHADWEEP 2 5 0 0.0 0.0
35 PONDICHERRY 1633 293 180 0.6 11.0
TOTAL (UTs): 11529 4646 2381 0.5 20.7
TOTAL (ALL INDIA): 361343 66289 91376 1.4 25.3

Source : For column 4 -‘Motor Transport Statistics of India 2002-2003’ report of Transport Research wing, Ministry of Road Transport &
Highways, New Delhi.
Note : * – Data relates to 1996-97; ** – Data relates to 1997-98;
$ – Data relates to the year 1999-2002.

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The rate of Road Accident Deaths per thousand
registered motor vehicles in each State/UT is
presented in Table-1(J). It is observed that the
rate of Accidental Deaths per thousand vehicles
was highest in Arunachal Pradesh at 8.6
followed by D & N Haveli 4.2, Sikkim 3.6,
Himachal Pradesh 3.5 and Tripura at 3.1 as
compared to 1.4 at the National level although
the States of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu had
the highest and the second highest number of
registered vehicles in the country. The rate of
deaths per 100 cases of road accidents was
highest in Mizoram (176.3) followed by
Nagaland (92) compared to 25.3 at the National
level.
Fatal Road Accidents
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have respectively
accounted for 14.5 per cent and 12.3 per cent
of total ‘Road Accident’ cases in the country.
They have reported 10.4 per cent and 11.6 per
cent respectively of total Road Accident Deaths
in the country.
77,164 males and 14,212 females totalling
91,376 were killed during the year, while
travelling by various modes of transport on
roads. 21,772 persons (23.8%) of these were
occupants of ‘Truck or Lorry’, 10,762 (11.8%)
were killed while traveling in buses while 14,607
(16.0%) were riding on ‘Two-wheelers’ and
8,207 (9.0%) were pedestrians [Table (1.7) &
(1.8)].

Figure 1.6 Figure 1.7

Road Accident Deaths by Road Accident Deaths by Type of Vehicles
Type of Vehicle (Number) (Percentage Share)

25000
21300
Others
20000 Pedestrian 8.5 Truck/Lorry
9.0 23.8
Bicycle
15000
2.8

10000 8327 Two Wheeler

Bus
6636 6330 16.0
5872 11.8
5000 4126
Three Tempo/Vans
Wheeler Car Jeep 6.6
472 154 198 196 7.1
5.0 9.3
0
Truck/Lorry Bus Tempo/Vans Jeep Car

Government Private

Although break-up of total Government and Pradesh (14.5%) followed by Tamil Nadu
Private vehicles are not available, it is pertinent (12.5%). 18.0% of ‘Bus victims’, 16.2% of
to note that 97.8 per cent victims of ‘Tempo/Van victims’, 16.2% of ‘Car victims’
‘Truck/Lorry’, 61.1 per cent of ‘Buses’, 97.3 per were killed in Tamil Nadu only. 33.4% of ‘Three
cent of ‘Tempo/Vans’ and 97.3 per cent of Wheeler’ victims were from Andhra Pradesh
‘Jeeps and Cars’ involved in accidents, were only. 17.7% ‘Jeep’ victims’, 16.2% ‘Two
travelling in private vehicles. Wheeler victims’ and 15.3% Pedestrian were
from Maharashtra alone.
The number of persons who died of
‘Truck/Lorry’ accidents was highest in Andhra

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 Table — 1 (K)
Sex wise Road Accident Deaths by Type of Vehicle during 2004

Sl. Type of Vehicle Number of Road Accidental Deaths

No. Male Female Total %share
of total
vehicles
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
1 Truck/Lorry 19051 2721 21772 23.8
Government 410 62 472 0.5
Private 18641 2659 21300 23.3
2 Bus 8674 2088 10762 11.8
Government 3374 752 4126 4.5
Private 5300 1336 6636 7.3
3 Tempo/Vans 4972 1054 6026 6.6
Government 133 21 154 0.2
Private 4839 1033 5872 6.4
4 Jeep 7033 1492 8525 9.3
Government 169 29 198 0.2
Private 6864 1463 8327 9.1
5 Car 5360 1166 6526 7.1
Government 162 34 196 0.2
Private 5198 1132 6330 6.9
6 Three Wheeler 3750 834 4584 5.0
7 Two Wheeler 12814 1793 14607 16.0
8 Bicycle 2352 203 2555 2.8
9 Pedestrian 6593 1614 8207 9.0
10 Others 6565 1247 7812 8.5
Total 77164 14212 91376 100.0

Traffic Accidents By Month & Time of reported 41.3 per cent of Rail-Road accidents
Occurrence in the country.

As per Table 1.9, a total of 98,061 ‘Traffic
Accidents’ were reported in the 2nd quarter of
the year accounting for 25.5 per cent (out of
3,84,523) of total traffic accidents during the
year. The month-wise break-up of accidents for
each State/UT/City are presented in Table-
1.12.
The month-wise distribution of ‘Road Accidents’
has also shown more accidents during May
(31,752) and December (31,371) sharing 8.8
per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively.
Maximum ‘Rail-Road Accidents’ occurred
during the month of March (255). The
maximum number of ‘Other Railway Accidents’
were reported during the months of July (1,863)
and September (1,823). [Table (1.12)]
Tamil Nadu, which accounted for the maximum
(14.5%) Road Accidents in the country has also
reported the maximum number of Road
Accidents during each month of the year at
national level. Delhi has reported the maximum
number of ‘Road Accidents’ among UTs which
is 2.5% at the National level. West Bengal has
(14)
A total of 7,696 (out of 20,597) accidents
accounting for 37.4% of ‘Railway Accidents’
(other than ‘Rail-Road accidents) were reported
from Maharashtra only followed by Uttar
Pradesh 2,450, (11.9%). Delhi is the only UT
which has recorded such accidents. A total of
761 such accidents were reported in Delhi UT.
[Table (1.11)]
The distribution of ‘Traffic Accidents’ in each
State/UT/City during the 8 classified time
periods (Prahar) of the day is presented in
Table 1.13. Maximum ‘Road Accidents’
(57,848) were reported during office hour i.e., 9
a.m. to 12 noon. (16.0%) and 57,284 cases
during 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (15.9%) while least
number (25,366) of these accidents (7.0%)
were reported during 12 O' clock to 3 AM in the
night. The maximum Rail-Road Accidents were
reported during 3.00 p.m. to 9 p.m. (28.6%).
The maximum number of ‘Other Railway
Accidents’ (16.3%) were also reported during 9
A.M. to 12 Noon. [Table (1.13)]
Accidental Deaths in Cities cities was higher than that of Maharashtra
(18.6%) at the national level [Table (1.2)].
The term ‘mega city’ refers to cities which have
a population of over 10 lakhs. Lucknow data is
Evidently, average rate of Accidental Deaths in
not available for analysis among 35 mega
cities (36.7) was higher than the All-India rate
cities. Mumbai has reported the maximum
(25.5). Except nine cities viz. Amritsar, Bhopal,
number of ‘Accidental Deaths’ (9270) followed
Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ludhiana,
by Delhi (6165) accounting for 23.4 per cent
Madurai, Patna and Varanasi, all other 25 cities
and 15.6 per cent respectively. The rate of
have reported higher rate of ‘Accidental Deaths’
‘Accidental Deaths’ was highest in Indore
than the National average. It is also interesting
(80.0) followed by Nasik (69.1) as compared to
to note that 23 out of 34 cities have reported
average rate for the cities (36.7). Mumbai’s
comparative higher rate of ‘Accidental Deaths’
share (23.4%) of Accidental Deaths among
as compared to their parent State’s rate. The
same is reflected in Table 1(L).

Table – 1 (L)
Rate of Accidental Deaths in Cities
(with rate higher than parent state) during 2004
Sl. No. City Rate in City Rate in Parent State
(1) (2) (3) (4)
1. Mumbai 56.6 50.6
2. Nagpur 53.7 50.6
3. Nasik 69.1 50.6
4. Pune 64.9 50.6
5. Delhi (City) 48.2 45.3
6. Indore 80.0 39.5
7. Rajkot 68.0 32.3
8. Surat 39.0 32.3
9. Vadodara 39.0 32.3
10. Jaipur 49.7 28.9
11. Bangalore 45.1 28.4
12. Vijayawada 52.0 27.9
13. Vishakhapatnam 40.3 27.9
14. Kochi 27.1 24.5
15. Ludhiana 24.6 23.6
16. Asansol 26.9 14.8
17. Agra 35.4 13.6
18. Allahabad 41.6 13.6
19. Kanpur 45.6 13.6
20. Meerut 47.7 13.6
21. Varanasi 18.4 13.6
22. Dhanbad 40.9 5.6
23. Jamshedpur 31.3 5.6

Kolkata, the second largest city in terms of
population (12.3% of the population of all maga
cities) among 34 cities after Mumbai (15.2%),
reported the comparative lower accidental
death rate of only 6.3. The lowest accidental
death rate was reported from Patna (4.0%).
The comparative reporting of ‘Accidental
Deaths’ during 2004 in the top four mega cities
is presented in Table 1(M).

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 Table – 1 (M)
Rate of Accidental Deaths in Metropolitan Cities during 2004
Sl. City Estimated Mid- Share of Share of Deaths Rate (No. of
No Year Population Population In In Cities (percent) Deaths Per one
. (In Lakhs) Cities (percent) Lakh Population)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
1. Chennai 64.3 6.0 4.5 27.9
2. Delhi 127.9 11.9 15.6 48.2
3. Kolkata 132.2 12.3 2.1 6.3
4. Mumbai 163.7 15.2 23.4 56.6

Figure-1.8

Percentage Share of Accidental Deaths in Mega Cities During

2004

Others
Nasik 19.2 Mumbai
2.0 23.4
Kolkata
2.1
Hyderabad
2.7 Surat
2.8
Nagpur
Delhi (City)
2.9
15.6
Jaipur
2.9
Ahmedabad Bangalore
3.0 Indore 6.5
Pune
Kanpur 3.3
Chennai 6.2
3.1
4.5

Out of 39,615 ‘Accidental Deaths’, 37,697
deaths due to un-natural causes & 1,918
deaths due to causes attributable to Nature
were reported from 34 cities as compared to
38,229 deaths during 2003 accounting for an
increase of 3.6 per cent during the year. 12
cities out of 34 have reported a decline in
accidental deaths. Meerut city reported the
maximum increase of 83.8% (from 303 to
557) while Patna city has reported the
maximum decline of 79.8 per cent (from 341
to 69) in the number of accidental deaths
during the year.
Though, 34 cities accounted for nearly 9.9 per
cent of the country’s population, they reported
comparatively more deaths due to accidents
(i.e. 14.3 per cent of total accidental deaths in
the country) and significantly higher rate of
36.7 as compared to 25.5 at the National
level. The share of deaths in cities due to
causes attributable to Nature was 11.3 per
cent while that due to un-natural causes was
14.6 per cent at the national level.
Accidents due to Un-Natural causes in 34
cities reported an increase of 3.1 per cent
over the previous year (from 86,656 to
89,344) as compared to 6.7 per cent increase

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at the National level (from 5,02,835 to
5,36,762). These 34 cities accounted for
nearly 16.6 per cent (89,344 out of 5,36,762)
of accidents due to un-natural causes in the
country which rendered 13.2 per cent (56,804
out of 4,31,712) injured & 14.6 per cent
(37,697 out of 2,58,326) dead. Mumbai city
alone accounted for 14.1 per cent of un-
natural accidents and nearly 24.6 per cent of
deaths due to these accidents. [Table (1.11)]
Delhi among 34 cities has reported the
highest number of deaths by causes
attributable to Nature (39.5%) followed by
Chennai city (22.3%). All the deaths in Bhopal
were due to ‘Cold & Exposure’ alone. 60.0 per
cent deaths in Faridabad were due to
‘Starvation/Thirst’. 50.0 per cent deaths in
Coimbatore and 48.1% deaths in Ludhiana
were due to ‘Heat Stroke’. All deaths were
due to Natural cause in Kochi and were due to
Lightning in Vadodara [Table (1.10)].
Delhi city has accounted for 14.1 per cent of
Deaths due to un-natural causes - ‘Other
Railway Accidents’. Surat alone shared 15.0
per cent of deaths due to ‘Fall’, Kochi shared
12.3% deaths due to Drowning. Jamshedpur
********
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and Patna city accounted for 27.3% and
23.8% deaths due to Fire. Rajkot accounted
for 35.7 per cent of ‘Sudden Deahts’. 20%
deaths in Indore were due to Poisoning.
96.9 per cent deaths in Madurai and 63.2 per
cent deaths in Varanasi were due to ‘Road
Accidents’ while 96.9 per cent deaths in
Madurai were due to ‘Traffic Accidents’ only.
Among Un-natural causes, the share of
‘Deaths’ in cities due to ‘Falls’ (5.9%), ‘Fire’
(9.1%) and ‘Sudden Deaths’ (11.5%) was
higher than their corresponding shares of
3.3%, 7.1% and 6.7% at the national level. On
the other hand, share of deaths due to
‘Drowning’ (4.1%), ‘Poisoning’ (4.7%), deaths
in Traffic Accidents (30.1%) were
comparatively lower at 8.2%, 8.5% and 43.3%
respectively than the National level
[Table (1.11)].
Madurai alone has reported 96.9 per cent of
total road accident deaths among 34 cities.
Nearly one-third (26.4%) Pedestrian and
20.8% deaths of Bicycle riders were reported
from Delhi city alone.