With an average of 99 accidents occurring daily across the state, and the number of deaths in collisions rising, the state transportation department will form an accident analysis and accident investigation team. This comes against the backdrop of a bus accident in Andhra Pradesh, which led to the death of 13 people.
Officers at the Land Transport Bureau said the number of accidents and deaths had risen in the past five years, and studying the causes would help improve road safety. A third-party agency will soon be appointed to conduct the study.
“Multiple factors such as vehicle speed, road conditions, human error, black spots on roads and turning geometry are some of the reasons that contribute to accidents. We stress on the need for a detailed scientific investigation of every accident that occurs,” an RTO official said.
almost $Rs 1 crore has been sanctioned for this initiative. The proposed unit will include technically qualified staff and experts. It will select fatal accidents and conduct detailed studies. This team will be part of the road safety cell of the RTOs which will coordinate with departments like police, public works department, highway authorities and traffic police to build an integrated accident prevention mechanism.
The analysis will cover the sequence of events, vehicle condition, braking patterns, road design, signaling systems, etc., sources said. Based on these results, data-driven measures for road safety will be recommended. Authorities will identify black spots, make improvements to road design, if necessary, install speed regulation signs, update the signaling system, and conduct awareness campaigns for drivers. Meanwhile, in the last two months, action has been taken against 1,65,303 motorcyclists for not wearing helmets, while 22,000 riders have been fined for the same offence, and 14,658 cases of speeding have been caught.
With 77% of road deaths in Maharashtra involving motorcyclists and pedestrians, the state transport department has launched a campaign to reduce deaths by more than 50% by 2030. The initiative was launched in mid-February under the title ‘Save Cyclists and Pedestrians in 2026’. Incident data from the past three years will be mapped and analyzed to identify high-risk areas, which will be prioritized for safety interventions. Key measures include preventing passengers not wearing a helmet from crossing toll booths.
