On March 4, India observes National Safety Day and one of the key features of the day is to raise awareness and commitment towards road safety. The National Safety Council of India marked this day to create awareness of safety principles which include road safety, workplace safety and human health safety. The day also highlights the importance of traffic rules, safety rules and measures that citizens should take to avoid mishaps. Road accidents are one of the major causes of death around the world. USA, Germany and Iran are amongst the countries where major road accidents take place. India is also amongst those countries where the cause of death is mostly due to road accidents.
On National Safety Day, let’s take a look at countries with the highest number of road accidents and where does India stand:
USA
The United States of America has a distinguished record of the highest number of road accidents in the world. The country recorded 2.21 million accidents in 2018 which resulted in 37,461 deaths and around 3 million people injured. It is the largest road network in the world and the second-largest consumer of automobiles.
Japan
Japan is the second country with 499,232 road accidents with 4,698 deaths and 614,155 injuries as recorded in 2018. The country is the third-largest market of automobiles and the sixth biggest road network.
India
India ranks third in road accidents with 480,652 road accidents that claimed 150, 785 lives, which is more than any other country. The country’s road network is the second biggest in the world.
Germany
In Europe, Germany is the biggest market for automobiles and has recorded 308,145 road accidents in 2018. This has led to 3,206 deaths and more than 3 lakh injured people. Although Germany does not have a dense network, the number of accidents is surprising.
Taiwan
Taiwan is an island nation in East Asia and stands fifth in the list of highest road accidents. It has a list of 305,556 road accidents with 403,906 injured people. The number of deaths stood at 1604 and the country has the lowest road network in the world.
The data has been taken from a report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and World Bank.
