New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) An estimated 77.5 percent of road accidents in the country are caused due to the fault of the driver alone, the Lok Sabha was informed Monday.
“The analysis of road accident data received from states/union territories reveal that the driver’s fault is the single most important factor responsible for accidents, which is about 77.5 percent,” Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Sarve Sathyanarayana told the house in a written reply.
About 2.4 percent of accidents are the result of the pedestrian’s fault, while cyclists cause about 1.3 percent accidents.
Bad roads account for 1.5 percent of road accidents, while 1.6 and 1.0 percent accidents are attributed to faulty vehicles and weather conditions, respectively.
An estimated 14.8 percent accidents are caused by various other reasons like stray animals, falling boulders, neglect of civic bodies etc.
The minister said the government has taken several steps to minimise road accidents in the country.
“The government has approved National Road Safety Policy and adopted a multi-pronged strategy to address road safety,” Sathyanarayana said.
Road safety had been made an integral part of road design at the planning stage. Measures like road safety audits of national highways, tightening of safety standards of vehicles and publicity campaigns on road safety awareness have also been taken, he added.
