Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday admitted that there is a surge in road accidents in the country. Gadkari said that the situation has worsened despite his initial commitment to cut accidents by 50 percent.”Forget about reducing the number of accidents, I have no hesitation to admit that it has increased. When I go to attend international conferences where there is a discussion on road accidents, I tried to hide my face,” Gadkari said during a discussion on road safety in the Lok Sabha.The Union Minister, according to TOI, stressed the need for significant changes in human behaviour, societal attitudes, and respect for the rule of law to improve road safety.Gadkari disclosed that road accidents claim 1.78 lakh lives annually, with 60 percent of victims falling within the age group of 18-34.Among states, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of road accident deaths, with over 23,000 accounting for 13.7 percent of total road accident deaths., followed by Tamil Nadu with 18,000 deaths or 10.5 percent, Maharashtra 15,000 deaths or 9 percent and Madhya Pradesh 13,000 deaths or 8 percent.
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