Between January 2019 and September 2025, Maharashtra witnessed a shocking 95,722 fatalities in road accidents, highlighting a persistent safety crisis, according to official data.
Accident records from the Maharashtra Transport Department show 26,922 road accidents and 11,532 deaths in the first three quarters of 2025, nearly matching last year’s 26,719 accidents and 11,573 fatalities during the same period, reported news agency PTI.
In the latest tragic incident, eight people died and 14 others were injured when a car was crushed between two large container trucks, triggering a massive fire on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune on Thursday evening.
In the six years leading up to September 30 this year, Maharashtra recorded 2,19,039 road accidents that claimed 95,722 lives, left 1,29,670 people seriously injured, and caused minor injuries to 53,036 others, PTI reported.
While last year saw 15,715 fatalities in 36,118 crashes, the data shows, 11,532 persons have lost their lives in 26,922 accidents till September this year.
At the national level, India lost 1,72,890 lives in road accidents in 2023, reported PTI. Maharashtra ranked third with 15,366 deaths in 2023, behind Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, according to figures shared by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Weak enforcement, reckless driving, inadequate training, and overloaded vehicles are among the reasons usually cited by experts for India`s high road deaths.
In the past six years, the number of accidents and fatalities in the state dipped only in 2020 due to pandemic-related restrictions on vehicular movement. Since then, both figures have risen steadily despite efforts by authorities to curb road deaths, reported PTI.
Between January and September this year, Washim district reported a 37 per cent rise in road accidents compared to the same period last year, followed by Dharashiv (27 per cent), Solapur city (26 per cent) and Sangli (25 per cent).
Road deaths went up by 59 per cent in the Buldhana district in the first nine months of this year, followed by Sangli (54 per cent), Solapur city (50 per cent), Latur (33 per cent), Bhandara (33 per cent), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural (29 per cent) and Amravati (25 per cent).
Among the state`s districts and major cities, Mumbai, the country`s financial capital, witnessed the highest 1,878 accidents between January and September this year. Nashik Rural topped the fatality list with 656 road deaths.
(With PTI inputs)
