Increased tourism activities, rash driving major factors: Transport officer
MANSI BHAMBRI/Dehradun
Uttarakhand has reported an increase of 2.84 per cent in road accidents and a 16.51 per cent rise in fatalities in road accidents up to October 2025, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. This aside, the State has seen a 39.35 per cent increase in the number of those injured in the same period. This worrisome upward graph has been reflected in the data released by the Transport department.
According to the Transport department data, there were 1,443 road accidents in 2024 (the previous year), whereas, in 2025, up to October, 1,484 road accidents have been recorded. Similarly, in 2024, there were 848 fatalities and 1,240 mishap-related injuries. On the other hand, there have been 988 fatalities by October in 2025, while 1,728 individuals were injured, highlighting a significant uptick compared to last year.
Commenting on this, the deputy transport commissioner, Shailesh Tiwari said that though a spike is discernible in the figures involving road accidents, fatalities and number of injured, the rise is not that alarming.
He identified several factors contributing to the rise in road accidents across the State. “Firstly, the number of vehicles has increased. Additionally, Uttarakhand is a tourism hotspot with crores of tourists visiting each year for events such as Kanwad Yatra and Char Dham Yatra as well as those making trips to Mussoorie and Nainital. Many of the tourists are unfamiliar with the State’s unique and treacherous topography. This accounts significantly for the accidents that occur in the State,” he said.
He also recounted factors such as over-speeding, reckless driving, drunken driving and wrong-side driving contributing to the increased accidents. “It has been observed that most of the accidents occur between 3 PM and 12 AM. As per the observation, the chances of traffic accidents increase by 40 per cent during night hours compared to the daytime,” he said.
Tiwari further emphasised that the months of May, June and October witness higher number of accidents primarily due to increased tourism activities and others. “To stop or mitigate road accidents, the Transport department is ever active, taking steps on multiple fronts. We remain primarily focused on educating residents about road safety through banners, posters and awareness programmes in educational institutions,” he said.
Additionally, enforcement measures are being implemented, including the issuance of fines for traffic violations. “We are laying stress on improving road design and upgrading vehicles to enhance safety. The automatic testing stations have been established in some districts for vehicle fitness,” he said, adding that they were going all-out to curb road accidents, their fatalities and injuries by all means at their disposal.
