While India continues to be the top nation in terms of total fatalities from road accidents, these deaths often end up being just plain statistics that can be disputed.

The data on road accidents and fatalities are released every year by two central agencies- the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). But there has been a persisting mismatch in these figures for many years, varying to the tune of thousands of deaths.

The MoRTH report for 2024 says that a total of 1.77 lakh people died in road accidents across the country. Whereas the NCRB’s “Accidental deaths & suicide in India” report, released online on Wednesday (May 6), says that 1.75 lakh people died during the period. “Crime in India”, another report by the NCRB, which records deaths due to negligence relating to road accidents, shows that 1.81 lakh people lost their lives in road crashes in 2024.

The mismatch is not unusual. An analysis of the last five years of data shows that, barring 2023, the number of road fatalities varied across reports. This trend has continued even when the road transport ministry rolled out its ambitious Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR)/Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) system in 2021-22, with the intent of collecting real-time data entered by the police.

While the difference may not appear large, the gap rises to nearly 4,000 deaths over the period under analysis. Since it involves human lives, each disparity should be treated seriously and with concern, say analysts tracking the numbers.

In an accident, the policeman, who is typically the first responder, is regarded as the best source of primary data. One may also rely on data from hospitals and state transport departments.

The Transport Research Wing (TRW), a division of MoRTH, collects accident data from the state police departments in formats provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia-Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project. It collects 21 types of data from the police, including accident identification, details of the road, the vehicle and its driver. This data is used in four of its important publications, including Road Accidents in India.

However, the report often gets delayed due to delays in data sharing by the states, with the 2023 report being the latest available report. Thus, the ministry has shifted to eDAR/iRAD data for its decisions.

The NCRB, on the other hand, collects the data from State Crime Record Bureaus (SCRBs). The SCRBs collect data from District Crime Record Bureaus (DCRBs), which in turn get the data from the police stations. The source of both departments’ data is the same.

In case of death by negligence due to an accident, the police FIR would register the crime under section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), now under section 106 of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).

According to the WHO’s global status report, even internationally, around 50% of reporting countries relied on police data, 7% on the health departments and another 11% from transport departments.

What could explain the disparity in data?

A senior official of MoRTH explained the reason for the mismatch in numbers. “While the source of road accident data is the police, the difference is in the proactiveness in supplying the data. Since the police are under the Home Ministry, they have to give them (NCRB) the data in any case. We are a different authority; we have to reach them through multiple channels. Also, the data reported by the Police is often limited to the questions asked by TRW,” said the official.

The official further said that to resolve these issues, the iRAD/eDAR system was created, but some states continue to not report properly. “In every system, there will be some discrepancy. The difference has gone down much, less than 5%. In eDAR, along with CCTNs, hospitals are also linked, but not all. Soon we will be able to match both the hospital and police data,” said the official.

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In the eDAR system, the police personnel enter details about the accident and geotag it with photos and videos in the app. However, there is a possibility of under-reporting of fatalities by police if the deaths take place after 30 days and may not get reported. Further, there is a risk that the police officer’s biases and value judgments cloud the data they enter.

According to the World Road Statistics by the International Road Federation, India continues to be the top country in total people killed due to road accidents, followed by China and the United States. Iran has the highest rate of persons killed per lakh population. Several countries, such as Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia and China, have lower rates of persons killed per one lakh population than India.