Road injury was the leading cause of death in India among 15-39-year-old males in 2017 and was the second leading cause for both sexes combined, according to the findings of India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative published in the Lancet Public Health.
The study is the first comprehensive population-level estimates of road injury deaths by type of road users in each State of India.
Of the total 2,19,000 road injury deaths in India in 2017, 77% were in males with the death rate three times higher compared to females. The death rate standardised for age was 17.2 deaths per 1 lakh population, but it was 25.7 deaths per 1 lakh male population and 8.5 deaths per 1 lakh women.
In 2017, pedestrians in India accounted for 35.1% (76,729) of all deaths due to road injuries and older adults were the largest casualties. Motorcyclists accounted for 30.9% (67,524) of all road fatalities, motor vehicle occupants accounted for 26.4% (57,802) and cyclists 7% (15,324) of road fatalities.
Motorcyclist and cyclist road injury death rate were 69% and 33% higher in India compared to the global average.
The study notes that if the estimated trends of road injury deaths up to 2017 were to continue, none of the Indian States are likely to meet the SDG 2020 target of reducing the road injury deaths by half from 2015 to 2020 or even by 2030.
