The period between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. is the most dangerous time to be on Indian roads, going by the number of road mishap cases reported in 2021.

According to the annual report -- ‘Road Accidents in India 2021' -- released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the evening hours, especially the three-hour duration between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. recorded the maximum number of road accidents in the country in 2021.

"In 2021, the time interval between 18:00 and 21:00 hours recorded the maximum number of road accidents, accounting for 20.7 per cent of the total accidents in the country and this is in line with the pattern seen over the past five years," said the report.

As per the report, the second highest time interval in the day was between 15:00 and 18:00 hours, constituting 17.8 per cent of road accidents.

"As per the data, afternoon and evening hours are the most dangerous time to be on the road. The time interval of 0.00 hours to 6:00 a.m. saw the least number of accidents," said the report released recently.

As per the report, the country witnessed a total 4,12,432 road accidents in 2021, and maximum 85,179 road accidents (20.7 per cent) occurred between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., while 73,467 accidents (17.8 per cent) took place between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Month-wise analysis of road accidents in 2021 disclosed that the maximum number of accidents was reported in the month of January, followed by December, November and October. The data said that January 2021 recorded a total of 40,305 accidents, in which 14,575 persons were killed.

(KB/IANS)