New Delhi, June 12 -- India's roads became deadlier in 2024, with fatalities from road crashes rising to 177,175, a 2.5% increase from 172,890 in 2023, according to the latest Road Accidents in India 2024 report released by the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) on Thursday. The country recorded 487,707 road accidents during the year, up 1.5% from the previous year. The 2024 toll is significantly higher than the 10-year average of around 154,000 fatalities annually between 2014 and 2023. While the number of deaths has increased, the death rate per 10,000 vehicles has continued its long-term decline - falling from 7.3 in 2014 to 4.8 in 2022 - as the number of vehicles has increased from 191 million in 2014 to 354 million in 2024, suggesting that safety improvements have struggled to keep pace with rapid motorisation and the increase in road length. According to the report, Indian cities with a 50-million plus population reported a marginal 0.4% reduction in road accident fatalities. Among these cities, Delhi recorded the highest number of accidents (5,657), fatalities (1,551) and injuries (5,224) in 2024. The national capital also reported 147 pedestrian deaths at crossings, among the highest in the country. Bengaluru ranked second nationally in both accidents and fatalities, recording 4,769 crashes and 894 deaths during 2024. Ahmedabad recorded 125 fewer deaths during the year, followed by Dhanbad with 95 fewer deaths and Kanpur with 78 fewer deaths. Despite the overall improvement, several major metros continued to account for a significant share of urban road trauma. Hit-and-run cases recorded the sharpest rise in road fatalities in 2024, with deaths increasing by 9.0% year-on-year to 34,030, accounting for 19.2% of all road fatalities in the country....