Road fatalities in Telangana declined from 7,949 in 2024 to 7,687 in 2025, while pedestrian safety remains a concern with a slight uptick from 1,586 to 1,632 deaths during the same period.
According to data released by the Transport Department, the number of fatal accidents also declined from 7,495 to 7,262. The number of reported road accidents, however, rose from 25,986 to 27,236. Two-wheeler users accounted for nearly half of all road deaths, with fatalities seeing a reduction from 4,216 in 2024 to 3,878 in 2025. Correspondingly, deaths among occupants of cars, taxis, vans and other light motor vehicles declined by 11.5%, while those among auto-rickshaw users fell by 10.7%.
Touching upon the issue of pedestrian safety, the deaths under this category rose from 1,586 to 1,632. In other words, this accounted for 21.2% of all road fatalities in 2025. Deaths among drivers and riders fell from 3,894 to 3,632, while fatalities among pedestrians and passengers together remained unchanged at 4,055.
“ Each of these numbers represents a family that has suffered a loss, and 7,687 deaths in a year are far too many. Against the trend of rising road crash deaths seen in many States, Telangana has brought its numbers down. The decline is encouraging, and it reflects the combined efforts of the Transport Department, the Traffic Police and the people of Telangana,” Transport Commissioner K. Ilambarithi said, adding that efforts would be made to improve enforcement which would lead to an increase in road safety awareness and a reduction in fatalities. The Transport Commissioner said that the decline was encouraging but stressed that the number of deaths remained unacceptably high.
Regarding the pedestrian safety, the Transport Department is advising agencies to prepare action plan to remove obstructions on footpaths, including encroachments, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions.
Pedestrians crossing roads at designated crossings have the right of way, and motorists must stop for them. All pedestrian crossings are to be monitored through CCTVs, with violations dealt with strictly, the department said.
Passengers accounted for 383 of the 576 deaths among occupants of cars, taxis, vans and other light motor vehicles, compared with 193 drivers killed. The higher number of passenger deaths was on account of passengers occupying the rear seats not practicing safety measures such as wearing seatbelts.
Meanwhile, on two wheelers, of 3,878 fatalities, 1,030 were pillion riders. Taking a serious view of this, the department urged all motorists to avoid drunk driving, and those travelling in cars, including rear seat occupants, to wear a seat belt. Two wheeler riders as well as pillion riders were urged to wear helmets.
Data shows that women remained vulnerable. Of the 986 women killed in road accidents in 2025, an overwhelming number, 948, meaning 96% were pedestrians or passengers.
Transport Department reiterated the introduction of a two-and-a-half hour, six module, online road safety video course for driving license applicants. Currently in the pilot stage, the move is a part of a standard operating procedure which the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways introduced on the directions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety.
While the pilot began at the Kukatpally Regional Transport Authority, it has since been introduced in the CURE area. Till October 17 this year, as many as 21,606 applicants had registered for the course with 18,093 of them completing it. The department shared that 15,254 applicants provided feedback and 94% of them rated the content as excellent or good.