Road accidents claim a life every two hours in J&K, reveals data

Srinagar, Dec 12: Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a disturbing trend of road accidents over the past six years, with a total of 4,899 fatalities and 40,065 injuries reported between 2019 and October 30, 2024. This alarming statistic translates to one death approximately every two hours, underlining the urgent need for improved road safety measures in the region.
In the last two years alone, the Union Territory saw 15,289 people injured in road accidents, highlight-ing the ongoing challenges in managing traffic and ensuring safety. Despite efforts to improve road infrastructure and traffic management, reckless driving, poor roads, and other factors continue to claim lives annually. As of 2024, the year has already recorded 703 deaths and 6,820 injuries.
According to statistics from the official website of J&K Traffic Police, the Kashmir division has been par-ticularly hard-hit, with Srinagar recording the highest number of accidents — 394 — leading to 43 deaths and 411 injuries. Other districts in the region also reported significant accidents. Ganderbal had 137 accidents, 30 fatalities, and 187 injuries; Budgam, 190 accidents, 12 fatalities, and 292 injuries; and Anantnag, 283 accidents, 37 fatalities, and 380 injuries.
Similarly, Pulwama (83 accidents, 5 fatalities, 131 injuries), Shopian (56 accidents, 5 fatalities, 82 inju-ries), Awantipora 91 accidents, 15 fatalities, 121 injuries, Baramulla 170 accidents, 35 fatalities, 255 inju-ries, Bandipora (86 accidents, 15 fatalities, 131 injuries; Kupwara (101 accidents, 15 fatalities, 151 inju-ries, Handwara 72 accidents, 20 fatalities, 103 injuries, Sopore 85 accidents, 10 fatalities, 116 injuries.
In the Jammu division, Jammu district topped the list with 910 accidents, resulting in 105 deaths and 1,218 injuries. Other districts like Samba, Kathua, and Udhampur also witnessed numerous accidents, contributing to the rising toll.
The total number of accidents in 2023 reached 6,292, claiming 893 lives and injuring 8,469 people. This marked a sharp increase from previous years, with fatalities rising steadily from 728 in 2020 to 996 in 2019.
In response to this alarming situation, the Jammu and Kashmir Traffic Police issued over 1.2 million traf-fic violations this year. These included 899,110 court challans and 311,975 compound challans. Srinagar, rural Kashmir, and Jammu City collectively recorded more than 1 million challans, underscoring wide-spread violations of traffic rules.
Experts have called for immediate action to address the rising road accidents. “Improved road infra-structure, stricter law enforcement, and better public education on road safety are critical to reversing this trend,” said a road safety expert. “The government and authorities must act urgently to curb this growing crisis.”
The Traffic Police have initiated several awareness campaigns and increased penalties for violations, hoping to instill safer driving practices among motorists. “While we are working hard to educate driv-ers, the ultimate responsibility lies with the individuals behind the wheel,” a senior police officer stat-ed.
Reckless driving, excessive speeding, overloading, and poor road conditions, particularly on difficult routes like the Jammu-Srinagar and Jammu-Doda-Kishtwar highways, remain the primary causes of accidents. Distracted driving, lack of driver experience, and vehicle malfunctions also contribute to the high number of incidents, further emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to road safety.
With road accidents continuing to claim lives at an alarming rate, experts warn that without immediate intervention, the situation will only worsen, leading to further fatalities and injuries across Jammu and Kashmir.