Chennai sees fewer crashes, more road deaths in 2026

CHENNAI: Fewer road crashes but more deaths. That is the disturbing road safety picture emerging from Chennai in the first half of 2026, with the city recording an 8.44% rise in fatalities despite a 2.68% decline in accidents, compared with the corresponding period last year.

According to the provisional road accident analysis for June 2026, Chennai recorded 1,996 accidents and 257 deaths up to June this year, against 2,051 accidents and 237 deaths during the same period in 2025. The rise in Chennai's road deaths appears to be linked more to the severity of crashes than their frequency.

The Chennai figures stand in contrast to the overall state trend. Tamil Nadu recorded 37,292 road accidents till June 2026, up from 35,226 in the corresponding period of 2025. This represents a 5.86% increase, or 2,066 additional crashes. Yet fatalities declined marginally from 9,498 to 9,461, a fall of 0.39%.

The numbers also put Chennai at the top of the list of major cities for both crashes and fatalities. Tambaram followed with 1,027 accidents and 256 deaths, while Avadi recorded 729 accidents and 118 deaths. Salem reported 561 accidents and 138 deaths.

At the district level, Coimbatore had the highest accident count at 2,078, followed by Chennai at 1,996, Cuddalore at 1,907 and Chengalpattu at 1,902. Coimbatore also topped the fatality chart with 494 deaths, followed by Chengalpattu with 472 and Madurai with 469.

Two-wheeler riders continued to be the biggest contributor to road fatalities. They accounted for 16,702 accidents, or 44.79% of all crashes, and 4,180 deaths, accounting for 44.18% of fatalities till June.

Reluctance to helmet use remains a major concern. Of the 4,180 people killed in two-wheeler crashes, 1,136 deaths were linked to non-wearing of helmets. The figure was 803 during the corresponding period last year.

Chengalpattu recorded the highest number of such deaths at 82, followed by Krishnagiri and Coimbatore with 68 each and Madurai with 64. Chennai recorded 25 deaths attributed to non-wearing of helmets, as against 21 in 2025.

The analysis also points to driver behaviour as the overwhelming contributor to road crashes. Of the 37,292 accidents recorded till June, 34,587, or 92.75%, were attributed to driver fault. Driver error was also linked to 8,746 deaths, or 92.44% of all fatalities.

State highways emerged as the biggest accident hotspots, accounting for 12,164 crashes and 3,068 deaths. National highways under NHAI accounted for another 9,998 crashes and 2,985 deaths. Together, state and national highways accounted for nearly 64% of accidents and fatalities.

Village roads also saw a sharp deterioration, with accidents rising 17.07% to 4,692 and deaths increasing 8.13% to 1,250.

Enforcement data presents another contrasting trend. Driving licences suspended for the six traffic violations, identified by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, fell from 48,358 till June 2025 to 41,402 till June 2026, a decline of 14.4%.

Of the suspensions in 2026, mobile-phone use while driving accounted for 10,524 cases, followed by red-light jumping at 9,155 and over-speeding at 8,623. Together, the three accounted for nearly 70% of all suspensions.

Suspensions for red-light jumping recorded the biggest fall, dropping by 3,469 cases from 12,624 to 9,155. Action against over-speeding declined by 1,959 cases, while suspensions for carrying persons in goods carriages fell by 1,698.

Drunk driving was the exception, with licence suspensions rising from 6,120 to 8,223, a 34.4% increase.