A significant discrepancy between the State-level data and the data on road accidents caused by minors in Tamil Nadu, recently presented in the Rajya Sabha by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, has triggered a controversy in the State. The Minister’s figures, based on the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD), indicated that Tamil Nadu topped the list of such incidents in the country with 2,063 cases between 2023 and 2024, out of a nationwide total of 11,890.
Madhya Pradesh followed Tamil Nadu with 1,138 cases, while Maharashtra recorded 1,067 cases during the same period.
However, Tamil Nadu police officials have expressed concern over what they described as “shocking discrepancies” in the figures. In their own review of the iRAD system—accessed via the State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB), which is integrated with the Tamil Nadu Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS)—they found that the number of accidents caused by juveniles was substantially lower.
According to the State’s internal data, Tamil Nadu recorded only 204 such accidents in 2023 and 269 in 2024, totalling 473 over the two years. Furthermore, the total number of challans issued to parents or guardians of juveniles stood at 41 in 2023 and 80 in 2024. In contrast, Bihar emerged as the State with the highest number of challans issued to minors—1,316, resulting in a revenue collection of ₹44.27 lakh.
A senior official from the Traffic and Road Safety wing of the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police’s office voiced frustration over the lack of transparency in the iRAD system, describing it as a “one-way” platform. While Tamil Nadu had been over 90% efficient in uploading accident data to the iRAD system via the SCRB, the official said the same could not be assured of other States—particularly those reporting unusually low accident numbers. He added that the inability to access other States’ data in a readable format for cross-verification has made accountability difficult.
“Where is 200 and where is 2,000? Clearly there is an error here,” the officer said, pointing to the stark mismatch in figures.
Despite the controversy, Tamil Nadu officials highlighted recent improvements in road safety within the State. A 17% reduction in fatal road accidents was recorded in January and February 2024, with 2,576 fatal accidents and 2,678 deaths, compared to 3,110 fatal accidents and 3,253 deaths in the same period the previous year.
This decline has been attributed to several proactive safety measures, including round-the-clock highway patrolling, improvements in U-turn design, strategic road sign installations, and extensive public awareness campaigns by both the State Police and the Transport and Road Safety Commissionerate.
A senior official from the Commissionerate added that Tamil Nadu remains the only State in India with a formal policy to suspend driving licences for not wearing helmets or seat belts. This is in addition to the six violations identified by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety that can lead to license suspension: over speeding, overloading, drunk driving, using mobile phones while driving, red light jumping, and overloading passengers in goods carriages.
As underage driving continues to be a serious concern in Chennai and across the State, the Tamil Nadu government has reiterated its commitment to road safety, while calling for greater transparency and accuracy in the national-level data systems that inform policy and public perception.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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