Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has stressed that technology can play a transformative role in improving road safety and raising public awareness, urging citizens to follow basic traffic rules to help reduce the country’s high number of road accident fatalities.
Speaking at a road safety event organised by Uber, Gadkari said simple measures such as wearing helmets and seat belts, obeying traffic rules, and driving responsibly can significantly reduce the number of lives lost in road accidents. He added that technology-driven solutions can complement these efforts by spreading awareness and promoting safer driving practices.
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, the minister noted that India records nearly five lakh road accidents every year, resulting in around 1.80 lakh fatalities. He emphasised that reducing these numbers requires a collective effort involving the government, technology companies, industry stakeholders, and citizens.
Gadkari said the government has been implementing a range of initiatives to improve road safety through better engineering, stricter enforcement, enhanced emergency response systems, and public awareness campaigns. He reiterated that the adoption of advanced technologies, along with responsible road user behaviour, will be crucial in making India’s roads safer.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ latest road accident report, the number of road accidents in India increased by 1.48% to over 4.87 lakh in 2024, with road crashes claiming the lives of nearly 20 people every hour. Gadkari stressed that sustained awareness, improved compliance with traffic regulations, and technology-enabled interventions will be essential to reversing this trend and saving lives.