New Delhi: Road deaths due to negligence – speeding, careless or irresponsible driving – took 495 lives every day in 2024, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report. It said around 1.81 lakh people lost their lives in such accidents, an increase of around 4.4% over the previous year.The number of deaths in 2024 is even higher than the figure shared with Parliament by the Road Transport Ministry, which was 1.77 lakh. The ministry has not yet published its report on road accidents in India. NCRB will also publish a separate detailed report on accidental deaths in 2024.According to the NCRB (under the Home Ministry), Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of road deaths (25,158) due to negligence in 2024, followed by Tamil Nadu (18,676), Karnataka (16,232), Madhya Pradesh (15,440) and Maharashtra (15,249). All these states recorded more road deaths than in 2023, indicating that Indian roads have become more unsafe.The NCRB report also shows that the number of people killed in hit-and-run cases is expected to increase from 55,334 in 2023 to 56,974 in 2024, with UP topping the list with 19,641 deaths, followed by MP (10,130) and Bihar (4,949). Among cities with a population of more than one million, Delhi had the highest number of hit-and-run deaths at 949, followed by Bengaluru (773) and Jaipur (744).India tops the list of countries in terms of road deaths with a share of more than 12% of all such deaths worldwide. Despite the government’s claims and efforts, deaths have not decreased in recent years and this remains a major challenge.