Himachal: National Highway is very short in length, accident and death rate is high

Himachal Pradesh: Although national highways constitute only 6% of Himachal’s total road length of 42,779 km, they account for a significant number of road accidents and deaths. In 2024, 47.7% of all accidents and 35.9% of deaths occurred on national highways. A Transport Department official admitted, “Given the very short length of national highways in the state, the rate of accidents and deaths is quite high.” The official added, “The main reason for accidents and deaths is the overload on national highways. The traffic volume on national highways is much higher than on state highways and other roads. Apart from locals, most tourists travel on national highways.”
In 2024, state highways accounted for approximately 15% of accidents and deaths. Other roads accounted for 36.6% of accidents and 49.4% of deaths. Compared to urban areas, rural roads experienced significantly higher accidents and deaths. In 2024, 38% of accidents occurred in urban areas, while 62% occurred in rural areas. However, the urban-rural gap in accidents was significantly higher in 2021, when only 15% of accidents occurred in urban areas and 85% in rural areas. This rural-urban gap has been steadily decreasing.
However, the severity of road accidents has been steadily increasing over the past few years. Road accident severity, which measures the number of people killed per 100 accidents, increased from 39.7 in 2022 to 41.1 last year. In 2023, the national average road accident severity was 36. Among the state’s districts, Kinnaur and Chamba had the highest road accident severity in 2024 – 97.1 in Kinnaur and 83.5 in Chamba. Shimla and Mandi districts top the list for accidents. Shimla saw 268 accidents, resulting in 102 deaths, while Mandi saw 250 accidents, resulting in 93 deaths. As for the causes of road accidents, overspeeding and drunk driving top the list.