Gurgaon: Faridabad’s roads remained brutally unforgiving in 2024, especially for those with least protection.According to NCRB data, pedestrians and two-wheeler riders together accounted for more than four in every five road deaths in the city. Even though overall fatalities dipped slightly, the data revealed a deeper crisis — that the most exposed commuters are still the most likely to die.Faridabad recorded 647 road accidents in 2024, up marginally from 636 in 2023. But deaths fell from 307 to 287, a decline of 6.5%, while the number of injured dropped from 485 to 468.Even with that modest improvement, Faridabad stood out nationally for the wrong reason. Among 153 mega cities, it recorded the second-highest rate of accidental deaths at 141 per lakh population, according to NCRB. That is nearly five times the national average of 33.3 and far above the mega city average of 43.2. Only Raipur — the Chhattisgarh capital — reported a higher rate, at 148 per lakh. NCRB defines mega cities as those with populations above 10 lakh, based on census 2011.Two-wheeler users, the data showed, remained the worst hit. Deaths involving motorcycles and scooters rose from 129 in 2023 to 148 in 2024, an increase of nearly 15%. This means almost every second person killed on Faridabad’s roads was a two-wheeler rider in 2024.Pedestrians were the second-largest group of victims. Though the number fell slightly, 86 pedestrians still died in crashes in 2024, compared with 95 the year before. Together, pedestrians and two-wheeler riders accounted for 234 of the city’s 287 road deaths.The data also pointed to persistent danger for other vulnerable road users. Bicycle-related deaths rose sharply from four to 11. By contrast, fatalities involving larger vehicles declined. Deaths linked to trucks and mini trucks fell from nine to three, bus-related deaths dropped from two to zero, and fatalities involving cars, SUVs and vans came down from 26 to 16. Auto-rickshaw-related deaths also fell steeply, from 13 to two.In terms of causes, dangerous or careless driving, including overtaking violations, led to 88 deaths in 2024, up from 73 in 2023. Speeding remained another major killer, though fatalities linked to it fell from 106 to 84. A striking 109 deaths were still classified under “causes not known”, only slightly lower than 120 in 2023. Cases involving drunk or drugged driving were officially recorded at zero in both years.The most accident-prone hours were in the daytime. The highest number of crashes, 107, took place between 3pm and 6pm, followed by 103 between noon and 3pm. National highways passing through Faridabad remained among the deadliest stretches, accounting for 103 accidents and 53 deaths. Expressways saw 18 accidents and 11 fatalities.Across India’s mega cities, Delhi recorded the highest number of road deaths in 2024 at 1,551, followed by Bengaluru with 894 and Jaipur with 860. Srinagar reported the lowest toll at 53.
