<h1>2023 road-accident report: 16,025 deaths from not wearing seat belts; helmets non-use caused 54,568 deaths</h1> A government road-accident report for 2023 attributes 16,025 fatalities to non-use of seat belts (8,441 drivers, 7,584 passengers) amid 4,80,583 reported accidents causing 1,72,890 deaths and 4,62,825 injuries. Non-use of helmets accounted for 54,568 deaths; helmets are legally mandatory for most two-wheeler riders. Fatal accidents rose 3.04% from 2022, with hit-from-back, hit-and-run and head-on collisions the leading fatal collision types. Overspeeding was implicated in roughly 68% of accidents, deaths and injuries. Other noted legal-risk factors include drunk driving, signal violations, mobile use, wrong-side driving and unlicensed or learner drivers.