4 min readNew DelhiFeb 25, 2026 12:24 AM IST
India’s future is dying on the road and the government should make road safety a priority, said Jean Todt, United Nations Secretary-General’s special envoy for road safety, on Tuesday. He launched the UN-JCDecaux Global Campaign for Road Safety in New Delhi, which features celebrities promoting rules of the road.
“Road crashes have become a silent pandemic around the world. In India, thousands of people are dying every year. We want to avoid this,” said Todt in an interview with The Indian Express.
A total of 1.77 lakh people died in road accidents in 2024, an increase of 2.31% from 2023, when 1.73 lakh fatalities were recorded in 4.80 lakh road accidents. When it comes to road accident fatalities, India tops globally, followed by China, which accounts for just 36% of India’s total road deaths, and the US at 25%. Edited Excerpts:
Last year, the Declaration of Marrakesh committed to halving the number of road fatalities by 2030. How do you see India’s road safety efforts?
I mean, it is not enough. You know very well, you are living in India. I am not living in India, but when I see that, I am terrified. If you have a responsibility to communicate, you just have to open your eyes and you will see what is happening. The Indian government should put that (road safety) higher in the agenda. You know, considering that you do not want to lose 2,00,000 people, even if it is 1.4 billion population, but we do not want to see 2,00,000 Indians dying on the road. And as it is the number one cause of death for the younger generation, it is the future of the country which is dying or injured on the road. We want to avoid that.
Sometimes, despite following traffic rules, people still die in road accidents. Do you think poor road engineering is a significant cause of these fatalities?
They (road users) do not follow the rules. If they would follow the rules, they would not die. In life you need to be educated and follow discipline. And if you do so, you will not be hurt on the road. I mentioned in the press conference today also that education, law enforcement, quality of vehicles, quality of roads, quality of post-crash care, all of it should be considered for road safety.
How can road engineering be improved?
Story continues below this ad
I mean, you know, by inspection, of course. But, it is not easy because you have so many roads in a country like India, you cannot pretend to have all the roads in perfect condition. That is why attitude and behaviour is important. A driver or a road user must adapt speed depending on the road.
On one side, you have the rules, but you have to also ensure the enforcement of the rules. If the rules are not enforced, there is no need to have them.
AI is entering every walk of life. Do you think this can help with reducing fatalities?
I am sure it can have a role, but you know, every five minutes, you have two people who die on roads in India. If you want to make these numbers decrease quickly, you cannot wait for AI to arrive. You need to act now.
Story continues below this ad
Can any best practices of the world in road safety be replicated in India?
We cannot expect from India a situation which you have in Switzerland or in Sweden. It is different. You cannot compare the 1.4 billion population in Asia to the 10 million population in Europe. So, you have to adapt yourself to the culture of the country and make sure that things are occurring at the level of the government and of the private sector in India.
