Speed Demons to Be Blamed for 41% of All Road Crash Deaths in Uttar Pradesh

Sixty-five per cent of two-wheelers, half of the light motor vehicles, and over a third of buses were found speeding in five crash-prone districts of Uttar Pradesh, a report released on Thursday, revealed.

- Soumya Chatterjee

NEW DELHI: Sixty-five per cent of two-wheelers, half of the light motor vehicles, and over a third of buses were found speeding in five crash-prone districts of Uttar Pradesh, a report released on Thursday, revealed.

The study by the SaveLife Foundation and IIT Kanpur, was conducted to understand the instances of speeding in the state and how to curb it, as road fatalities are considerably higher in Uttar Pradesh. UP is incidentally the state with the highest number of road crash victims according to the 2022 (latest) nationwide data.

Going by the 2022 figures, 22,595 persons died as a result of road crashes in UP with speeding alone contributing to 9,297 fatalities or 41% of the total road crash deaths. A significant number of such deaths (over 3,700) occurred on national highways.

Alarmingly, the study found that 75.8% of two-wheelers were speeding on national highways and 63.9% on state highways near schools in four districts. Additionally, over 80% of two-wheelers, light motor vehicles (LMVs), and buses were found to be exceeding the 25 km/h speed limit in all school zones.