Tamil Nadu sees 9% drop in road accidents and fatalities this year

Through rigorous enforcement and increased awareness on road safety, the Tamil Nadu State Police have reduced road accidents and fatalities this year compared to last year. This was done in coordination with various stakeholders, including officials of the Highways Department and Transport and Road Safety Commissionerate.

Director-General of Police Shankar Jiwal said the State has witnessed an overall reduction of road accidents and fatalities by 9% for the period from January to July this year, compared to the same period last year. This was made possible due to round-the-clock patrolling, targeted road engineering enhancements, strategic placement of road signages, and extensive public awareness campaigns. 

The total fatal road accidents in 2024 was 10,792, resulting in the death of 11,268 individuals, whereas this year, the total fatal accidents has been recorded at 9,844 causing the death of 10,241 persons in the said period. 

The decline was brought about by controlling road violations under six categories: namely, overspeeding (1,44,702 cases), red light violations (1,50,970 cases), using mobile phone while driving (2,40,285), drunken driving (1,41,883), passengers being carried in goods vehicles (78,876), and overloading of goods vehicles (4,550). 

Conducting road safety programmes in 18,230 places, the police also reached out to 10.22 lakh participants.