Ahmedabad: Have Gujarat’s roads become any safer? Not really, data presented in Lok Sabha shows, while highlighting that the number of road accidents has only risen. It’s just seven months into 2026 and the state has already recorded nearly 88% of the road accidents reported throughout 2025. The number of people injured in road crashes too has exceeded last year’s annual total.In 2025, Gujarat recorded 18,292 road accidents, 8,402 fatalities and 18,813 injuries, while between Jan 1 and July 27, 2026, alone there were 16,112 accidents, 4,763 deaths and 19,835 injuries.The accident count has already reached 88.1% of the entire 2025 total, while injuries have climbed to 105.4%, surpassing last year’s figure by more than 1,000 cases. Fatalities stand at 56.8% of the previous year’s total.An analysis of monthly averages shows that Gujarat recorded an average of 1,524 road accidents a month in 2025. This figure for 2026 so far is 2,302, a 51% increase. Month-wise data on injuries showed an 80.7% rise from 1,568 in 2025 to 2,834 this year.The silver lining in the otherwise discomforting month-wise data is a marginal decline in fatalities in road accidents — from 700 to 680, suggesting that while crashes are becoming more frequent, a relatively smaller proportion are proving fatal.Risks to pedestrians remain a major concern. A total of 2,100 pedestrians were killed and 2,570 were injured in 2025. By July 27 this year, pedestrian fatalities had reached 1,077, or 51.3% of last year’s total, while pedestrian injuries stood at 2,223, already 86.5% of the 2025 figure.The pattern has been similar on national highways. Gujarat reported 4,187 accidents, 2,512 deaths and 4,132 injuries on national highways in 2025. In the first seven months of 2026, there were 3,116 accidents (74.4% of the 2025 total), 1,286 fatalities (51.2%) and 3,863 injuries, already 93.5% of the injuries reported during the entire previous year.The figures indicate that although fatalities have not risen at the same pace, the frequency of road crashes and the number of people sustaining injuries have increased significantly in 2026. Since the latest data covers only up to July 27, the final annual totals are likely to be substantially higher if the current trend continues.Traffic experts in Ahmedabad say state govt has failed to strictly enforce traffic rules. “People are seen riding without helmets and many prefer paying fines than wear a helmet. SG highway and SP Ring Road are among the many hot spots for major accidents. Also, the helmet rule does not strictly apply to pillion riders. Hence, when road accidents occur, they too suffer major injuries.”A traffic cop requesting anonymity said that while he is not aware of Lok Sabha data, people are unwilling to wear helmets. Use of phone while driving is another major cause of concern in Ahmedabad city, besides driving on the wrong side.GUJARAT PAINTS A GRIM PICTURENumber of accidents crossed 18,000 in 2025, a nearly 20% increase from 2021Despite infrastructural improvements, deaths continue to rise. Fatalities increased from 7,452 in 2021 to 8,402 in 2025 (by about 13%)Injuries rose from 13,690 in 2021 to 18,813 in 2025 (by about 37%)Road accidents: 88% of 2025’s total recorded in just seven months of 2026Road injuries: Already 5.43% higher than the entire 2025 totalInjuries to pedestrians: By July 27, the number had reached 86.5% of last year’s totalInjuries from accidents on NHs: Already at 93.5% of the 2025 figure
