Even as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has shown a declining trend in road accidents over the last three years, as many as 972 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2025.
Official data reveal that a total of 5,258 accidents occurred across the Union Territory in 2025, resulting in 972 fatalities and injuries to 7,582 persons. The figures highlight a serious road safety challenge, with Jammu district emerging as the worst affected.
According to the statistics, Jammu district alone accounted for 937 accidents—the highest in J&K—claiming 212 lives and leaving 1,177 people injured. Srinagar reported 406 accidents, with 51 deaths and 478 injuries, while Kathua recorded 372 accidents, resulting in 84 fatalities and 471 injuries.
Rajouri witnessed 352 accidents, with 49 deaths and 572 injured, while Udhampur reported 345 accidents, claiming 65 lives and injuring 557 persons.
In the Kashmir division, Anantnag recorded 220 accidents, with 42 deaths and 308 injured; Baramulla reported 210 accidents, claiming 40 lives and injuring 327 persons; and Kulgam witnessed 169 accidents, with 35 fatalities and 242 injured. Kupwara reported 138 accidents, with 13 deaths and 235 injured, while Pulwama saw 125 accidents, resulting in 11 fatalities and 150 injuries. Bandipora recorded 104 accidents, Ganderbal 122, Handwara 82, Shopian 69, and Sopore 131, all contributing significantly to the overall toll.
In the Chenab region districts, Doda witnessed 216 accidents, claiming 38 lives and injuring 344 persons; Ramban reported 230 accidents, with 45 fatalities and 394 injured; while Kishtwar recorded 142 accidents, resulting in 35 deaths and 184 injuries. In the Jammu region, apart from Jammu district, Reasi reported 208 accidents, with 40 deaths and 382 injuries; Samba witnessed 240 accidents, claiming 62 lives and injuring 305 persons; while Poonch recorded 154 accidents, with 32 fatalities and 262 injuries.
Rash driving main cause of road accidents
As reported earlier, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari recently informed the Rajya Sabha that Jammu and Kashmir recorded 28,510 road accidents during the five-year period from 2020 to 2024, resulting in 4,031 deaths.
Of these 4,031 fatalities, as many as 3,956 were attributed to overspeeding alone.
The minister said overspeeding remained the dominant cause of crashes throughout the period. The Union Territory reported 4,821 overspeeding-related accidents in 2020, 5,351 in 2021, 5,990 in 2022, 5,666 in 2023, and 5,367 in 2024. Corresponding fatalities stood at 727 in 2020, 772 in 2021, 797 in 2022, 854 in 2023, and 806 in 2024. Cumulatively, 27,195 out of the total 28,510 accidents were attributed to overspeeding, resulting in 3,956 deaths.
Overloading and "vehicle hanging" also contributed to a significant number of mishaps. Such cases increased from 207 in 2020 to 240 in 2021, 281 in 2022, 245 in 2023, and rose sharply to 361 in 2024. Fatalities in these incidents climbed from 37 in 2020 to 47 in 2021, 45 in 2022, 58 in 2023, and surged to 195 in 2024. Over five years, 1,334 such accidents claimed 382 lives.
Road accidents decline in UT over past three years, claims govt
During the recently concluded budget session of the Assembly, the Jammu and Kashmir government stated that road accidents in the Union Territory have shown a declining trend over the past three years, owing to the effective implementation of various road safety measures.
Minister for Transport Satesh Sharma said the number of road accidents declined from 6,120 in 2023 to 5,726 in 2024 and further to 5,287 in 2025.
He added that due to the effective implementation of various road safety measures—including awareness campaigns, enforcement actions, and improved monitoring mechanisms—there has been a consistent decline in road accidents over the past three years.
