Traffic collisions in India are a major source of deaths, injuries and property damage every year. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2021 report states that there were 155,622 fatalities, highest since 2014, out of which 69,240 deaths were due to two-wheelers. A study by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, U.S. shows that the use of seat belts significantly reduces the risks and injuries from road accidents, and yet there is no enforcement on use of seat belts in cars. A study by IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Delhi points out that the national highways constitute only 2% of the length of roads in India, but they account for 30.3% of total road accidents and 36% of deaths.

According to the 2013 global survey of traffic collisions by the UN World Health Organization, India suffered a road fatality rate of 16.6 per 100,000 people in 2013. India’s average traffic collision fatality rate was similar to the world average rate of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 people, less than the low-income countries which averaged 24.1 deaths per 100,000, and higher than the high-income countries which reported the lowest average rate of 9.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2013.

Traffic in India consists of almost every conceivable type of motor vehicle, cars, trucks, buses, auto rickshaws, scooters and motorcycles. Add to this crazy eclectic mix bicycles, pedestrians and the odd cow the chaos becomes mind-boggling.

Where else? Houston, Texas of course.

When constructed during the 1960s, the I-10 Katy from Houston, known as the Katy Freeway, was built with six to eight lanes wide barring side lanes, being modest by Houston standards because existing traffic demand to the farming area of West Houston was relatively low. As the population and economic activity increased in the area vehicular traffic increased, reaching an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 238,000 vehicles just west of the West Loop in 2001.

In 2000 increased traffic levels and congestion led to plans being approved for widening of the freeway to 16 lanes with a capacity for 200,000 cars per day. An old railway running along the north side of the freeway was demolished in 2002 in preparation for construction which began in 2004. The interior two lanes in each direction between SH 6 and west I-610, the Katy Freeway Managed Lanes or Katy Tollway, were built as high-occupancy toll lanes and are managed by the Harris County Toll Road Authority. The section just west of SH 6 to the Fort Bend–Harris county line opened in late June 2006. Two intersections were rebuilt (Beltway 8 and I-610), toll booths were added, together with landscaping as part of Houston’s Highway Beautification Project. Most of the section between Beltway 8 and SH 6 had been laid by September 2006 and work was completed in October 2008.

Tolls on the managed lanes vary by vehicle occupancy, axle count and time of day. High occupancy vehicles may travel for free at certain times.

Interstate 10 (I-10) is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. In the U.S. state of Texas, it runs east from Anthony, at the border with New Mexico, through El Paso, San Antonio and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange, Texas. At just under 880 miles (1,420 km), the Texas segment of I-10, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation, is the longest continuous untolled freeway in North America that is operated by a single authority, a title formerly held by Ontario Highway 401. 

Go Train Toronto, Ontario

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Northeast United States

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Europe

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South-Central Asia

All Aboard!

Roof passengers ride for half price.

Safety Inspector says it’s good to go!

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Via Train approaching Churchill, Manitoba. Not a commuter train, but a tourist train.

After the passengers disembark from the train, they jump on the Tundra Buggy to check out the Polar Bears.

Winnipeg

Canadian National main line running parallel with the trans Canada highway east of Winnipeg.

Rank	Country	Railway length (km)	Date of information	Notes	Electrified length (km)	Historic peak length (km)	Area (km2) per km track	Population per km track	Nationalized or Private
1	United States	250,000	2014		<1,600	409,000	43.71	1,373	Private
2	China	121,000	2015		65,000	Present length	79.31	11,218	Nationalized
3	India	115000	2016		27,999		48.34	17,796	Nationalized
4	Russia	86,000	2013	“Commercial operational length”	(50,000) not verified		198.82	1,669	Nationalized
5	Canada	46,552	2008		129		214.48	716	Private
6	Germany	43,468	2010		19,973	58,297	8.22	1,881	Nationalized
7	Australia	38,445	2008		2,715		199.94	572	Both
8	Argentina	36,966	2008		136	47,000	77.45	1117	Nationalized
9	South Africa	31,000	2014	not verified	24,800		39.39	1,742	Nationalized
10	France	29,640	2008		15,140		21.53	2201	Nationalized
11	Brazil	29,303	(2012)		1,520		285.57	6397	Private
12	Japan	27,182	2009		16,702		16.10	5451	Both
13	Italy	24,179	(2007)		16,683		12.46	2507	Both
14	Ukraine	22,300	(2010)		9,752		27.07	2048	Nationalized
15	Romania	22,298	(2008)		3,971		10.69	854	Both
16	Poland	19,627	(2008)		17,358	about 24000 before 1989	15.93	1946	Nationalized
17	United Kingdom	17,732	(2008)		5,328	34,000 (before Beeching axe)	15.00	3825	Both (Franchised)
18	Mexico	17,166	2008		22		114.43	6,697	Private
19	Spain	15,947	(2012)		9,623		33.55	3062	Nationalized
20	Kazakhstan	15,372	(2010)		4,000		180.71	1,171	Nationalized

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