By Moa Jamir
Nagaland’s latest road accident data tells a story that is both reassuring and deeply disturbing. Reassuring, because the State continues to record among the lowest numbers of road accidents and fatalities in the country. Disturbing, because most fatalities appear to be not “victims of chance”, but preventable or lesser in severity.
Official figures leave little room for ambiguity. For instance, data tabled in the Rajya Sabha by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in December reported 62 road accident fatalities in 2024, a decline from 86 in 2023. However, overspeeding alone accounted for half of all road accident deaths in the State, at 31. If fatalities caused by not wearing helmets (10) and seat belts (13) are added in the above data, a a stark reality emerges: over 85% of road fatalities are driven by blatant rule violations and weak enforcement, rather than by infrastructure failures or mere chance.
Even more worrying is the trend revealed by the Nagaland Disaster Statistics 2024. While the number of accidents dropped sharply in 2023–24, accident severity surged to 26.67 deaths per 100 accidents, the highest in six years. In simple terms, crashes are fewer, but when they occur, they are far more likely to be fatal.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Chümoukedima, Dimapur and Kohima, which together account for over 90% of road accidents in the State in both 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Incidentally, in 2023–24, Chümoukedima district recorded the highest number of road accident deaths in Nagaland, with 31 fatalities, followed by Dimapur with 24, highlighting growing concerns over road safety along the four-lane NH-29 highway that passes through these districts. Overspeeding, rash driving and drunk driving were common denominators, with accident severity as high as 30.09 in Chümoukedima and 21.4 in Dimapur.
The prominence of helmet and seat belt violations in a State with such low accident numbers is especially alarming. A helmet or seat belt often determines whether a crash results in injury or death and when many fatalities stem from their absence, it points not merely to individual negligence, but to systemic enforcement failure.
This concerning scenario begs an uncomfortable but essential question: what exactly are highway or road checks in Nagaland meant to achieve? Are they consistently focused on curbing traffic violations and deterring dangerous driving, or are they primarily oriented towards other administrative, security-related, or even revenue-linked processes?
Moreover, alongside these figures lies another uncomfortable possibility that deserves open discussion: underreporting. Nagaland has a long tradition of informal and community-based conflict resolution. In many cases, road accidents, especially those without immediate fatalities or major injuries, are reportedly settled through mutual compromise outside formal legal processes. This cuts both ways. On the one hand, such settlements reduce prolonged legal hassles, ease pressure on the police and courts, and reflect local mechanisms of problem-solving that are often faster and less adversarial. On the other, they may mask the true scale and severity of road accidents.
When cases do not enter official records, accident numbers appear lower than reality, trends become distorted, and policy responses risk being based on incomplete evidence. Fewer reported accidents, in such circumstances, do not necessarily mean safer roads; they simply reflect fewer documented crashes.
The ‘road’ ahead does not demand complex solutions, but the consistent and effective enforcement of existing rules. Road safety built on partial data or selective action risks sustaining a dangerous illusion: reassuring official records that breed lax or selective enforcement and weak monitoring, offering little deterrence or meaningful behavioural change on the ground.
For any feedback, drop a line to jamir.moa@gmail.com
