About 53 people died every day on Tamil Nadu roads in the first nine months of 2026. But, Chennai bucked the trend and recorded a decline in road deaths through Oct.The city reported 402 deaths between Jan and Oct, down from 420 a year earlier. Injuries fell to 2,865 from 2,997. “Enforcement against violations and improvements at accident-prone locations have contributed to this,” said joint commissioner of police for traffic, south, P Pakalavan.
The state recorded over 56,000 crashes and 14,373 deaths in the same period.
Between June and Aug, 1.17 lakh two-wheeler riders were booked for helmet violations. Compliance has now reached nearly 95% among riders but remains at 50% among pillion passengers.Police used number plate recognition cameras, speed radars and interceptor vehicles to identify offenders, while civic agencies closed unsafe median openings and improved lighting and signs.That state, however, recorded 56,602 crashes and 14,373 deaths, according to its road safety analysis through Sept— roughly 207 crashes and 53 deaths a day. In 2025, the averages were 195 crashes and 51 deaths a day.Between Jan and June 2026, the state averaged 206 crashes a day, with the total nearly 6% higher than last year. Police attributed the increase to personnel being diverted to election duty. But, the daily average rose to 210 between July and Sept.
Prevention falls behind
“With the rise in vehicle population, violations have gone up. We must increase road safety awareness,” said an IIT Madras scientist Venkatesh Balasubramanian.Tamil Nadu has about 4.1 crore registered vehicles. Between 2022 and 2025, vehicle numbers grew 17%, crashes 11% and deaths 3.5%.Authorities suspended 41,402 licences in six months, compared with 95,568 throughout 2025, according to state crime records bureau figures.
Beyond the highways
National highways make up less than 3% of the state’s road network but accounted for 31% of crashes in 2025. But transport commissioner Sigy Thomas Vaidhyan said it would “not be right to say only speeding on wide, good-quality roads kills”.State has identified 7,723 hotspots and completed 5,356 interventions, leaving 2,367 awaiting action. “We have told police to investigate locations with at least three crashes, including those without injuries or deaths,” Vaidhyan said.State also plans to pilot ‘Vizhi’, which uses dashboard cameras and AI to flag traffic violations, in 100 enforcement vehicles before expanding statewide. ‘ThiranAI’ will provide adaptive, game-based training for new drivers and refresher courses for offenders.
Faster response, persistent delays
The health department has expanded ambulance services, upgraded emergency rooms and provided treatment cover of up to `2 lakh for victims. More than 700 govt and empanelled private hospitals offer free care for first 48 hours.“Ambulances are positioned near crash hotspots and reach within 10 minutes,” health secretary Darez Ahamed said.But, it can take 20 to 30 minutes to transport patients in remote areas and heavy-traffic zones, according to EMRI data. “Ambulances don’t have the facility to intubate. So, in severe cases, delays in reaching a tertiary care centre can lead to fatalities,” said M Selvakumar, head of EMRI, Tamil Nadu.Emergency doctors say districts still need more Emergency Care and Recovery Centres. “They help in stabilising patients. We must have at least two or three in every district,” said a govt doctor.
