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KEY TRENDS
• The severity of road accidents measured in terms of persons killed per 100 accidents is observed to have increased from less than 19.9 in 2001 to 24.7 in 2008 in India@
• The total number of road accidents has increased by nearly four times from 1,14,100 in 1970 to 4,29,910 in 2004$
• The total number of persons killed due to road accidents has increased by nearly six times from 14,500 in 1970 to 92,618 in 2004$
• Most of the fatal accidents resulted from the powered machinery, with the annual fatality rate estimated at 22 per 100,000 farmers**
• Rural areas report more deaths due to communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions (41%)*
• Besides the normal health problems, agricultural workers, in general, suffer from certain specific health hazards due to extensive use of fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides and mechanization**
• Low-income levels and consequent low nutritional intake and constant physical labour increase health problems. Poor health status further affects their productivity and forces them to spend their limited earnings on expensive health care**
@ Disaster Management in India (2011), Ministry of Home Affairs
$ Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
* Summary Report on Causes of Death in India (2001-2003)
** NCEUS (2007), Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector
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