The number of accidents in the State, and Bengaluru in particular, saw a decline in 2024, compared to the previous year, data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2024 shows.

Accidents have reduced by 0.9% in the State and by 4.2% in Bengaluru compared to 2023. Karnataka reported 43,062 accidents, leaving 52,591 injured and 12,390 dead. Meanwhile, Bengaluru reported 4,769 accidents, leaving 4,022 injured and 894 dead.

Of these accidents in Bengaluru, 4,285 accidents involved overspeeding, leaving 3,609 injured and 776 dead; 204 were hit-and-run accidents, killing 214. Data pegs accidents due to drunk driving at 129, leaving 45 dead in the city. 

Negligence of civic agencies

Bengaluru reported 17 cases in which accidents were caused due to the negligence of civic bodies. Only Bengaluru and Delhi have been registering such negligence cases, while other cities do not. Delhi recorded five cases in 2024. In Bengaluru, the number of such cases fell from 20 in 2023 to 17 in 2024. These incidents largely relate to road accidents caused by potholes, poor road stretches, and roads being dug up.

Fall in pedestrian deaths 

Like last year, Bengaluru topped the list of pedestrian deaths among mega cities in India in 2024 as well. However, the number of pedestrian deaths came down from 292 in 2023 to 246 in 2024.

Pointed interventions

A senior official who was with the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) in 2024 said the BTP, in collaboration with the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), made some pointed interventions in 2024 which reduced accidents. “We put up barricades, high medians on several road stretches to mitigate human-vehicle conflict. We made a list of several accident blackspots. BBMP resolved many of these blackspots with pointed interventions. We also introduced an 80 kmph speed limit on the International Airport Road and NICE Road, both high accident prone zones. All these measures may have contributed to a reduction in the number of accidents,” he said.