Determinants of Road Traffic Crash Fatalities: A Case of Road Accidents in India, 2004–2018.

This article investigates the macro-level factors influencing road accident deaths in India using panel econometric methods on data from 28 states and 3 union territories between 2004 and 2018. The study finds that motorisation, population, urbanisation, and per capita income significantly contribute to road fatalities, while increased spending on health care and police personnel is associated with reduced mortality rates. The analysis reveals a non-linear relationship between income and road deaths, where fatalities initially rise with income but decline after reaching a certain threshold, partly due to better health infrastructure and law enforcement. The findings suggest that enhancing health sector expenditure, improving police training and enforcement, and promoting public transportation over private vehicle use are critical policy measures to reduce the economic and human costs of road accidents in India.