Ahmedabad: The year 2024 recorded 410 fatalities — 26% of the 1,586 road accidents police recorded in Ahmedabad. The latest Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report for 2024 by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that the deaths recorded that year were fewer than 488 in 2022 and 535 in 2023. The 2023 figure was the highest in the decade for Ahmedabad.The NCRB data underscores that the fatality-to-crashes ratio has remained above 25% since 2019, indicating that one in every four accidents has been fatal. The year 2019 recorded the highest fatality rate of 32%, indicating that one in every three cases had a fatality.Experts in Ahmedabad point to factors such as road type (city road or highway), vehicle (two- or four-wheeler), and type of intersections (crossroads, T-junctions, etc) that decide the severity of a crash. They say that the chances of fatality increase if the crash takes place on a highway with movement of heavy vehicles at relatively higher speeds.The data also highlights the need to protect vulnerable road users – 50% of the deaths on city roads were of pedestrians (44%) and bicycle riders (6%), according to the report.
