Punjab’s industrial capital recorded a marginal decline in road accidents in 2024, but the city continues to remain among the most dangerous urban centres in the country in terms of road fatality rate.
The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveal a disturbing reality — while the number of accidents has slightly reduced, the chances of surviving a crash on Ludhiana’s roads remain alarmingly low.
According to official data, Ludhiana witnessed 483 road accidents in 2024, claiming 376 lives. The figures translate into a fatality rate of 77.84 percent, meaning nearly eight out of every 10 accidents in the city ended in death. In comparison, 504 road accidents were reported in 2023, in which 402 people lost their lives, pushing the fatality rate close to 80 percent.
The trend has remained grim over the years. In 2022, the city had recorded 467 road mishaps in which 364 people were killed and 174 injured.
The NCRB report places Ludhiana among the top cities in India with the highest fatality rates in road accidents. Varanasi tops the country with a shocking fatality rate of 112 percent after recording 223 deaths in 199 accidents. Pune follows with 381 deaths in 373 accidents, while Mumbai reported a 100 percent fatality rate with 348 deaths in 348 accidents. Nashik also remains among the worst-affected cities with a fatality rate exceeding 90 percent.
Across Punjab, the situation remains equally worrying. A total of 6,166 road accidents were reported in the state in 2024, leading to 4,936 deaths. The figures indicate that nearly eight out of every 10 crashes in Punjab turned fatal.
International road safety expert Dr Kamal Soi expressed concern over Ludhiana’s worsening road safety scenario and blamed inadequate infrastructure and weak traffic enforcement for the high fatality rate.
He said the city suffers from poor road planning and severe shortage of traffic personnel. According to him, Ludhiana currently has only around 70 traffic police personnel per one lakh population against the sanctioned strength of 220, resulting in inadequate enforcement on roads.
Dr Soi also pointed towards poor road conditions as a major factor behind fatal accidents. He observed that the placement of speed radars in the city was ineffective as most devices had been installed to monitor outgoing vehicles instead of checking vehicles entering the city at high speed.
The Punjab government had launched 144 hi-tech vehicles under the specialised ‘Sadak Surakhya Force’ (SSF) in January 2024 to streamline traffic movement and curb accidents across the state. However, despite the deployment of the specialised force, Ludhiana’s fatality figures continue to remain critically high.
