Civil society organisations working on road safety say that enforcement and infrastructure improvements alone cannot substantially reduce road fatalities unless prevention and awareness are treated as continuous and systematic efforts.
Published Dec 31, 2025 | 4:00 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 31, 2025 | 4:00 PM
Accident. Representational Image. (iStock)
Synopsis: Tamil Nadu bears one of the highest road accident burdens in India. According to the state government, 34,611 accidents and 8,562 deaths were reported in the first six months of 2025, averaging 192 accidents and 48 deaths per day.
Tamil Nadu continues to face a severe road safety crisis. According to the state government, 34,611 accidents and 8,562 deaths were reported in the first six months of 2025, averaging 192 accidents and 48 deaths per day.
Data placed before the Rajya Sabha by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) showed that in 2024, the state recorded 67,526 road accidents, the highest in India, and 18,449 fatalities, placing it second in the country for road deaths.
These figures are slightly higher than 2023’s 67,213 accidents, underlining the persistent risks on Tamil Nadu’s roads.
With overspeeding responsible for nearly 70 percent of crashes, Tamil Nadu accounted for almost 14 percent of India’s total road accidents, even as national figures rose from 4.81 lakh in 2023 to 4.88 lakh in 2024. These statistics highlight the urgent need for stronger enforcement and targeted road safety measures.
Citing data from MoRTH, Nina Subramani, Senior Researcher, Road Safety and Sustainable Mobility, at Citizens Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), said the state recorded 12,240 speed-related deaths out of 18,449 road fatalities in 2024, accounting for nearly 50 percent of all road deaths.
“Speeding is clearly the biggest contributor to road crashes in Tamil Nadu,” she told South First, adding that many fatal crashes occur on straight, high-speed roads lacking traffic-calming or safe-system design, while potholes and poor maintenance on semi-urban and intercity stretches further heighten the risk.
According to her, the interaction between human error and the road environment is critical.
“Tamil Nadu’s mixed urban–semi-urban context sees high traffic volumes, but road safety infrastructure has not kept pace. This combination significantly increases crash risk,” she explained, echoing findings highlighted in MoRTH reports.
Certain stretches of the state continue to witness concentrated traffic violations, particularly in high-demand areas.
“After the U-turn near Indira Nagar Railway Station (Chennai) was closed, vehicles are required to go up to Thiruvanmiyur to turn back. However, auto rickshaws and app-based bike taxis often take an illegal turn before the station to save time,” a traffic police officer in the area told South First.
“The stretch experiences heavy demand for services such as Uber and Rapido due to the presence of multiple colleges, including the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the International Institute of Tamil Studies. These violations are now occurring regularly, and we are actively taking action against them,” he added.
Tamil Nadu follows the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which prescribes steep penalties for major traffic violations. Under the revised fine structure for 2025, overspeeding attracts fines ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000 for light motor vehicles and ₹2,000 to ₹4,000 for heavy vehicles.
Riding without a helmet carries a ₹1,000 fine along with suspension of the driving licence for up to three months, while failure to wear a seatbelt in four-wheelers is punishable with a ₹1,000 fine.
According to the Tamil Nadu government’s Road Accident Analysis, June 2025 (Provisional), accidents are concentrated in specific districts, reflecting distinct regional patterns.
Chennai City reported the highest number of accidents at 2,016, followed by Chengalpattu (1,856), Coimbatore (1,810), and Cuddalore (1,667). Together, these districts account for a significant proportion of the state’s total accidents recorded up to June 2025.
In terms of fatalities, Coimbatore leads with 485 deaths, contributing 5.61 percent of the state’s total 8,652 fatalities, followed by Tiruppur (417), Madurai (403), Salem (399) and Chengalpattu (397).
While overall fatalities decreased by 11.64 percent compared to June 2024. Districts like Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Perambalur, Ranipet, Nilgiris, Thoothukudi, and Vellore recorded an increase in deaths over the same period.
Two-wheelers continue to be a major factor, with 3,725 deaths reported; 21.56 percent of them were due to non-wearing of helmets. District-specific hotspots for helmet-related fatalities include Coimbatore (50), Thiruvallur (47), and Chengalpattu (42), indicating critical challenges in urban and semi-urban areas.
The government has taken proactive measures to curb accidents and fatalities. Accident-prone locations are identified through field surveys, and in 2023, 6,165 hotspots were recorded.
Of these, 2,093 received funding under the Road Safety Fund, totalling ₹90.37 crore. Infrastructure improvements include signage, speed breakers, enhanced lighting, and pedestrian-friendly facilities, official data highlighted.
District-level interventions focus on high-incident areas such as Chennai, Coimbatore, and Chengalpattu, with awareness campaigns, stricter enforcement, and periodic audits to monitor effectiveness.
Nearly 71 percent of driving license suspensions were due to major traffic violations, including red light jumping (26.11%), mobile phone use while driving (23.13%), and overspeeding (21.88%), reflecting a combined strategy of enforcement and public awareness to modify risky behaviour.
The campaign ‘Zero is Good’, launched in August 2024 by the Greater Chennai Traffic Police, was a strategic initiative to reduce road accidents and promote responsible driving. This 20-day awareness drive focused on strict compliance with traffic rules, including helmet and seat belt usage and adherence to signals and stop lines.
It targeted schools, offices, auto and cab drivers, hospitals, and resident associations. Campaigns like these are considered necessary steps to reinforce safe driving practices and reduce road accidents across the state.
While acknowledging that the government has taken several positive steps, Subramani stressed that road safety requires coordinated action across multiple agencies. “Reducing road crashes cannot be achieved by one department alone,” Subramani said.
“Transport and Highways, police and enforcement agencies, health and trauma care systems, urban planning departments, and local bodies all need to work under a unified framework,” she added.
She pointed out that Tamil Nadu still lacks an overarching road safety action plan rooted in the Safe Systems Approach, which treats death and serious injury as preventable rather than inevitable. “Without clear mandates on road design, enforcement standards, and accountability, existing initiatives remain fragmented,” she said.
Another major concern, she added, is that cities are still designed primarily for cars. “Flyovers and wide roads prioritise vehicle movement, but we lack continuous, accessible footpaths and segregated cycle lanes,” she said, noting that this is reflected in Tamil Nadu’s high share of pedestrian and other vulnerable road user (VRU) deaths.
Strengthening public transport and redesigning streets for people could significantly reduce crash-related fatalities, she added.
From the emergency room perspective, the human cost of these violations is stark. Dr Ram Mohan KR, Head of Department and Senior Consultant in Emergency Medicine, and President of the Society for Emergency Medicine India (SEMI), Tamil Nadu, said head injuries dominate road accident cases seen daily in hospitals.
“In cities, we see more low-velocity injuries due to congestion, but even these often result in serious head injuries, especially when two-wheeler riders fall or are hit,” he said. Two-wheeler riders remain the most vulnerable group, followed by pedestrians and auto-rickshaw occupants.
Emphasising the importance of the ‘golden hour’, Dr Ram Mohan said the average ambulance response time in Tamil Nadu ranges between 10 and 20 minutes, and treatment is often initiated during transit itself. “Most patients do reach us within the golden hour, and that does help save lives,” he said, adding that outcomes depend heavily on the severity of injuries and early stabilisation.
However, he flagged recurring patterns behind preventable deaths. “We repeatedly see severe head injuries due to non-use of helmets and seatbelts. If seatbelts are not worn, airbags may not deploy properly, increasing the risk of fatal injuries,” he said.
He stressed the need to mandate seatbelt use for rear-seat passengers as well, noting that side and curtain airbags function effectively only when all occupants are restrained.
Reflecting on Tamil Nadu’s high fatality ranking, Dr Ram Mohan pointed to poor road discipline and weak adherence to speed regulations. “Despite good road infrastructure, overspeeding is common. When you compare this with states like Kerala, where roads are narrower, but speeds are lower, accident fatalities are significantly fewer,” he said.
Civil society organisations working on road safety say that enforcement and infrastructure improvements alone cannot substantially reduce road fatalities unless prevention and awareness are treated as continuous and systematic efforts.
Thozhan, a road safety organisation, has been conducting ground-level awareness programmes in schools and colleges, an approach that has gradually expanded into a more structured, research-driven engagement with government agencies.
Over time, this work has led to dedicated campaigns such as SaGo, aimed at ensuring that road safety messaging reaches wider sections of the public through sustained interventions rather than one-time initiatives.
Based on its field experience, the organisation identifies young people between the ages of 15 and 25 as the most vulnerable group on the roads. “Many of them do not have sufficient exposure to driving or a clear understanding of road safety,” Radha Krishnan, a Thozhan organiser, told South First, pointing out that this age group is often overrepresented in crash data.
One of the contributing factors, he noted, is the way driving education is currently delivered. Most driving schools, according to him, focus primarily on vehicle handling skills while giving inadequate attention to road safety rules, traffic behaviour, and road sense. This gap leaves first-time riders ill-equipped to navigate complex traffic conditions safely.
He also highlighted the absence of a strong prevention-focused framework in Tamil Nadu’s road safety response. “Preventive efforts are significantly lagging, and systematic road safety education is still not widely available,” he said, adding that better research and analysis are needed due to the lack of accurate and comprehensive data on road accidents and their causes.
Infrastructure shortcomings continue to compound these risks. Poorly maintained or non-functional traffic signals, missing or unclear signboards, potholes, and unsafe pedestrian pathways increase the likelihood of accidents for all road users, particularly pedestrians and two-wheeler riders, stressing the need for timely maintenance and safer, more accessible walking infrastructure.
The organisation also drew attention to gaps in the implementation of the Good Samaritan Law, noting that fear and lack of awareness still discourage bystanders from assisting accident victims. Stronger enforcement and public education, it said, could improve timely intervention and help save lives during the critical golden hour.
Subramani emphasised that speed management is one of the most effective and low-cost interventions available. “Speeding can only be addressed when limits are scientifically set and reduced — within cities, on highways, and especially near school zones,” she said, referring to CAG’s research on safe school zones.
CAG and its Road Safety Network partners have been pushing for amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act to introduce evidence-based national guidelines for speed limits, stronger penalties, and expanded enforcement to include two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
“Limiting speed is inexpensive, quick to implement, and delivers results,” she said.
Beyond speed, helmet and seatbelt compliance remain weak. CAG’s helmet compliance study across 11 districts found widespread resistance.
“Many respondents said they don’t wear helmets themselves, so they don’t insist that their children do either,” she said, highlighting the absence of risk perception among road users.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
