Incidents of road accident deaths in Kashmir decrease: Official data

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 04 (STC): A significant decrease in road accidents and deaths due to them has been recorded in the valley during the year 2026. According to official data,
The number of road accidents in the Kashmir valley till September 30 this year has decreased by 27.7 percent compared to the same period last year, while the number of deaths due to road accidents has decreased by 35 percent, reveals an official data.
The data further reveals that total of 1495 road accidents occurred in the Kashmir Valley from January 1 to September 30, 2026, while 2067 accidents were recorded during the same period last year. Thus, a significant decrease has been seen in the number of accidents during a year.
During the said period in 2025, 312 people were killed in 2067 road accidents, while 482 people were injured. In contrast, 202 people lost their lives in road accidents till September 30, 2026, which shows a decrease of 35.26% compared to the previous year. Similarly, a clear decrease has been recorded in the number of people injured this year. A total of 328 people have been injured so far in 2026, while 482 people were injured during the same period last year. This is a decrease of about 32% in the number of injuries. According to official data, a total of 3562 road accidents occurred in the Kashmir Valley from January 2025 to September 2026, in which 514 people died and a large number of people were injured. Although the decrease in accidents and deaths this year is being called encouraging, traffic officials say that caution on the roads, speed control and full compliance with traffic rules are still indispensable. According to the Traffic Police Kashmir, speeding is still one of the main causes of fatal road accidents. Officials have warned that driving faster than the posted speed limit not only increases the risk of accidents but also increases the chances of fatalities in the event of an accident.
According to the traffic police, other major causes include reckless and speeding driving, sudden dangerous turns, violation of traffic rules, dangerous overtaking, poor road engineering and identified black spots. Improper overtaking has been identified as a major cause of accidents, especially on hilly areas, narrow roads, bends and dangerous slopes.
Apart from this, sharp turns at some places, inadequate signboards, lack of road safety arrangements and other basic shortcomings also increase the risk of accidents.
The traffic police have also termed driving under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants as dangerous, as in such a condition the driver’s decision-making ability, reaction time and control over the vehicle are affected. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Traffic Kashmir Haseeb-ur-Rehman said that several steps have been taken to reduce the number of road accidents, especially on highways, to prevent violations of traffic rules. He said that he had personally raised the issue of installing speed limit signboards with the National Highways Authority of India. After this, NHAI has installed speed limit signboards on various highways from Qazigund to Kashmir.
The DIG Traffic appealed to the citizens to strictly follow the speed limit signboards installed on highways and other roads and keep their speed within the prescribed limit while driving. He warned that strict action will be taken against drivers found violating the speed limit or other traffic rules and heavy fines will be imposed. Traffic officials have urged the public to take precautionary measures while traveling on the roads and consider traffic rules as essential for the safety of human lives rather than just avoiding fines.
(Straight Talk Communications I Inputs from NNB)