Tech, enforcement and awareness drives down road deaths in Mumbai by 24 percent

Mumbai Traffic police using a chest-mounted (button) camera to record traffic violators. Pic/Ashish Raje

Maharashtra's road safety drive shows results as fatal accidents and deaths dropped 8 per cent in January-February 2026; Mumbai recorded a 24 per cent fall in accident deaths year-on-year. Data shows 194 fewer fatal accidents and 214 fewer deaths than the same period in 2025, pointing to tighter enforcement and tech-led monitoring.

Enforcement drive

"With a 50 per cent reduction target by 2030, the Transport Department has rolling out district-wise action plans, fixing black spots and deploying 332 enforcement squads armed with radar guns and interceptor vehicles," Maharashtra's Additional Transport Commissioner Bharat Kalaskar said.

He added, "The crackdown is visible on the ground: over 1.65 lakh riders were caught without helmets, 22,017 pillion riders without helmets, and 14,658 cases of speeding were booked. Seatbelt violations, invalid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, and uninsured vehicles also featured heavily."

Tech push

"The next phase is tech-heavy. AI and radar systems are being scaled up; 53 government and 13 private automated testing stations - and 38 driving test tracks - will come up in 2026. An Intelligent Traffic Management System is being rolled out on 25,000 km of roads. Deployed on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, it has cut accidents by 19 per cent," Kalaskar said. Faster emergency response, stricter checks, new school bus norms, and a ‘Save Two-Wheeler Riders and Pedestrians' campaign are part of the push.

Comparative data

January-February 2025
Accidents: 6209
Fatal accidents: 2556
Deaths: 2753

January-February 2026
Accidents: 6113
Fatal accidents: 2362
Deaths: 2539