Dehradun: One Death Every 8 Hours in Uttarakhand’s Road Carnage: Govt’s Hollow Promises Exposed

Yet another tragedy strikes the treacherous roads of Uttarakhand. Thirty-six people lost their lives in a harrowing accident, highlighting a grim reality— Uttarakhand is losing nearly 1,000 people to road accidents every year.

If that isn’t a wake-up call, what is? That's one life lost every 8 hours.

And remember, the number of injured is far higher, with many bearing lifelong scars.

What’s worse is the rate of fatalities per accident, or the accident severity rate, which is alarmingly high here.

While the national average limps along at a lower rate, Uttarakhand’s severity rate ranged from a shocking 71.3 in 2018 to 58.36 in 2021, as per the latest numbers from the State Transport Department.

This is more than double the national average! What will it take to get this through to the people in power?

Governments have come and gone—BJP, Congress—they all claim to care, but the reality is there’s been zero commitment to curb these senseless deaths.

Take the recent Almora incident, for instance: instead of addressing the root issues, authorities simply suspended a few low-level officials, said Anoop Nautiyal, President SDC Foundation Dehradun.

That’s a classic case of "passing the buck" to divert attention.

It’s high time the state government steps up with a serious action plan rooted in the 4 E’s: Engineering, Emergency care, Enforcement, and Education, he said. 

This is not just about policing—it’s about ingraining a culture of road safety across Uttarakhand.

Without proper driver education, robust infrastructure, and efficient emergency care, these tragedies will continue to haunt us.

Developing road safety isn’t an overnight fix—it needs all hands on deck, from every department to every citizen, to make our roads safer.