Assam Fog-Related Road Accidents: 2,476 Deaths in 5 Years as Visibility Crisis Grows

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: It has emerged that one of the major causes of road accidents and resultant fatalities in Assam and other parts of the country is ‘foggy and misty’ weather conditions.

According to statistics available with The Sentinel, within a span of five years from 2020 to 2024, a total of 2,476 persons perished in road accidents due to foggy and low-visibility conditions in Assam. A number of people also died in road accidents in other NE states, but Assam had the highest number of casualties. In 2024, road accidents during foggy conditions killed a total of 15,115 people across the country.

The year-wise breakup in the number of road accidents and fatalities in Assam is 1,033 accidents and 401 fatalities in 2020; 1,191 accidents and 415 fatalities in 2021; 1,202 accidents and 464 fatalities in 2022; 1,311 accidents and 563 fatalities in 2023; and 1,460 accidents and 634 fatalities in 2024. From the above figures, it’s apparent that both the number of road accidents and fatalities have been constantly increasing year-on-year in Assam. All the accidents and fatalities occurred during foggy conditions.

As a whole, in the year 2024, the total road accidents occurring in Assam were 7,848, and 3,351 people perished in these accidents.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), there are no specific Indian Road Congress (IRC) guidelines for fog-mitigation infrastructure. However, Para 5.6.2 of IRC:35-2015 prescribes the use of solar road studs for enhancing visibility during foggy conditions.

Further, to counter reduced visibility due to foggy conditions on the national highways during the winter season, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken mitigation measures to enhance visibility for the safety of national highway users. The NHAI’s mitigation measures have been classified under two heads: ‘Engineering’ and ‘Safety Awareness’ measures.

The engineering measures include reinstalling missing/damaged road signs and road studs, rectifying faded or inadequate pavement markings, installing reflective markers and retro-reflective yellow stickers on road safety devices like metal beam crash barriers, and implementing safety measures on construction stretches that include barricading and diversion signs and providing solar blinkers on the median openings to maximize visibility on national highway stretches.

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