Thiruvananthapuram: A total of 1,36,834 lives were lost in road accidents in the country in 2011 with Tamil Nadu topping the list with 15,422 casualties, according to the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre.
Andhra Pradesh came second with 15,158 deaths, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 14,996 and Maharashtra with 13,680 in the period, NATPAC said at a seminar on `Transport Vision Kerala-2030` here.
Of the total 4,40,123 on-road accidents recorded, Tamil Nadu topped with 65,873 mishaps, followed by Maharashtra 47,120, Karnataka 44,696 and Andhra Pradesh 41,066.
Among Union Territories, Delhi topped the list in road accidents and deaths. A total of 2,107 people died while a total of 7,280 accidents were reported during the period.
While Union Territory Lakshadweep islands reported no road accidents or deaths during the period, Nagaland had the lowest number of mishaps and death among states. A total of 36 people died in 32 road accidents in Nagaland.
The report said at least 1.3 million people are killed worldwide in "road crashes" and 50 million injured.
As per 2009 data, road mishaps decreased in most developed countries and nations such as USA recorded the lowest fatality rate of the past 50 years in 2009.
"While high income countries are looking back on a decade with record reductions in road fatalities, the picture is not shared in many countries undergoing rapid motorisation and where the number of casualties are increasing year after year", it said.
Key action areas for road safety policy should include co-ordination and management, augmenting safety research, creation of safer roads, effective traffic legislations and their enforcement and foolproof testing and licence protocol, the report said.
In Kerala, 3990 persons died in road mishaps in 2011 while total number of accidents reported was 35,309, the report said.
There has been a phenomenal increase in number of vehicles in the last five decades from 24,000 in 1960 to 64.11 lakh by June 2012.
The last 12 years showed a leap in number of vehicles registered in Kerala from 19.1 lakh to 64.11 lakh.
Among 14 districts in Kerala, Ernakulam, with commercial hub Kochi being its headquarters, recorded the highest number of 5,249 accidents and 513 deaths in 2011.
PTI
