260 killed in Mumbai road accidents between January and September 2026

Road accidents claimed 260 lives in Mumbai between January and September 2026. The city recorded 248 fatal accidents during these nine months. Road accidents in Maharashtra have declined compared with last year, but the continuing deaths have revived demands for stricter traffic rules, safer road infrastructure and better emergency medical care.

Across the state, 11,326 people died in road accidents between January and September 2026, against 11,912 in the same period of 2025. Maharashtra recorded 26,915 road accidents in all, of which 10,444 were fatal. The figures show how big the road safety challenge is.

Mumbai Traffic Police have identified accident-prone locations, commonly called black spots. Corrective measures are being implemented at these locations to reduce accidents and deaths. Senior traffic police officers said both short-term and long-term measures are under way across the city to remove road safety hazards.

Piyush Tewari, chief executive officer of the non-profit SaveLIFE Foundation, said the traffic police, the departments that own roads, the transport authority and healthcare providers must work together on sustained action. He cited the Director General of Police's Critical Corridor Teams initiative, which allows data-driven, targeted enforcement on high-risk road corridors, and at times when the risk of a crash is higher.

Tewari also asked the Public Works Department and the National Highways Authority of India to improve road engineering on the stretches identified as dangerous. The measures suggested include installing proper crash barriers and guardrails, putting traffic-calming arrangements in vulnerable areas, and improving road safety around schools through safe crossings and better speed management.

Road safety audits are also being carried out to identify infrastructure risks and recommend improvements. Experts recently worked with a Regional Transport Office (RTO) to conduct a detailed safety audit of a 2.5 km stretch of Malshej Ghat.

Ajay Govale of the non-profit United Way Mumbai said the organisation is working with various RTOs to give defensive driving training to driving licence applicants. The aim is to raise awareness among road users and promote safe driving. Experts say that both infrastructure shortcomings and driver behaviour must be addressed to reduce the risk of serious accidents.

Preventing collisions is only one part of the challenge. Experts have also called for better medical help after an accident, including faster ambulance services, better-equipped hospitals and a coordinated trauma care network. Tewari said Maharashtra should strengthen its emergency response system and implement the Supreme Court's directions that treat trauma care as a fundamental right. He also stressed the need to implement the PM-RAHAT scheme, so that eligible road accident victims get timely cashless treatment.

Deaths in Maharashtra in the first nine months of 2026 were lower than last year, but more than 11,000 lives lost shows that intervention must continue. Attention to the identified accident spots in Mumbai and enforcement of traffic rules are the main priorities. At the state level, experts want a combined strategy that includes safe road design, targeted enforcement, driver education and immediate medical care. They say the focus should be not only on reducing the number of crashes, but also on making sure no one dies in collisions that could have been prevented.