PUNE: Contrary to popular perception that road accidents occur during adverse weather conditions, 74% of road accidents in the country took place during sunny or clear weather conditions, according to the ‘Road Accidents in India 2022’ report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on October 31 this year. While the ministry did not highlight the reasons behind the rise in accidents during clear weather, experts said that greater traffic and lesser vigilance may have led to more accidents during sunny weather.
MoRTH report ‘Road Accidents in India 2022’ states 74% of road accidents in the country took place during sunny or clear weather conditions. ((PIC FOR REPRESENTATION))
Weather conditions affect road surface and the drivers’ visibility, thereby increasing chances of mishaps. Adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain, thick fog and hailstorms make driving riskier as visibility reduces and the road surface gets slippery. Hence, the ministry mentioned this phenomenon in the report to highlight the weather conditions recorded at the time of the accidents.
However, the data on road accidents during 2022 showed that nearly one-fourth of the accidents and fatalities took place during sunny/clear weather whereas accidents during adverse weather conditions constituted only 16.6% of the total road accidents in 2022. As per the data, a total 461,312 road accidents took place in the country during 2021-2022 due to weather conditions. Of these, 342,516 (74.2%) occurred during sunny weather; 38,329 (8.2%) during rainy weather; 34,262 (7.4%) during foggy weather; 4,083 (0.9%) during hail/sleet; and 42,122 (9.1%) during other types of weather conditions. In Maharashtra, there were 30,761 road accidents reported during sunny weather; 1,845 accidents during rainy weather; and 560 accidents during foggy weather conditions. The state stood fifth in the country in terms of road accidents during clear weather conditions. There is no city- or district-wise data provided in this report but details of five megacities (that fall under cities with a population of one million or more) have been given.
Speaking about the possible reasons for accidents during sunny weather conditions, Sandeep Gaikwad, senior programme associate, Parisar, an NGO that works for road safety and better traffic management in Pune, said, “Honestly, there is no direct correlation between the weather conditions and road accidents. But there are chances that during adverse weather conditions like rainy or cold weather, people are more cautious while driving as they are aware that the possibility of accidents is high. Similar cautiousness is not there during sunny days. Another possible reason is that on sunny days, there is more traffic seen on the roads, which might lead to more accidents. Many people travel during that time. On summer days, people travel by road; for vacations, outings, to attend programmes etc. Many heavy vehicles also travel on roads, especially on highways during that time. Hence, heavy flow of traffic might lead to more road accidents. Although these are assumptions.”
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