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Zambia recorded a total of 9,377 road traffic accidents in the second quarter of 2025, with 522 of them classified as fatal, resulting in 642 deaths, according to the Zambia Police Service.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday, Police Spokesperson, Rae Hamoonga, said 939 were serious accidents in which 1,826 people sustained severe injuries, while 1,816 were slight accidents involving 2,942 minor injuries.
The remaining 6,100 were damage-only accidents, which did not result in any physical harm to individuals.
Lusaka Province registered the highest number of accidents at 4,713, followed by the Copperbelt with 1,282, Central Province (919), Southern Province (579), and North Western Province (531).
Eastern Province recorded 380 accidents, Muchinga 340, Luapula 250, Northern Province 195, and Western Province had the lowest figure with 188 incidents.
“When compared to the second quarter of 2024, which recorded 9,035 accidents, there has been an increase of 342 incidents,” Hamoonga said.
Fatal accidents rose from 469 in 2024 to 522 in 2025, resulting in 42 additional deaths. Serious accidents increased from 876 to 939, with serious injuries climbing from 1,570 to 1,826.
Although slight accidents fell from 1,896 to 1,816, minor injuries increased from 2,760 to 2,942. Damage-only accidents also rose by 306 cases—from 5,794 in 2024 to 6,100 in 2025.
Hamoonga disclosed that 365 children under the age of 16 were involved in road traffic accidents during the quarter, comprising 211 boys and 144 girls.
Tragically, 63 children died, 147 sustained serious injuries, and 155 suffered minor injuries. Most of the children involved were passengers or pedestrians.
Human error remained the leading cause of road traffic accidents. Key contributing factors included excessive speed (2,317 cases), misjudging clearance distance (1,376), failure to keep to the nearside (1,253), and disregard for traffic signals or lights (777 cases).
Hamoonga also reported a notable increase in revenue from admission of guilt fines, with K18,152,450 collected in Q2 2025 compared to K15,957,240 during the same period in 2024—a rise of K2,195,210.
Expressing concern over the rising number of accidents and fatalities, particularly those caused by negligence and disregard for traffic rules, Hamoonga emphasized the alarming involvement of children.
“The involvement of children, particularly as pedestrians and passengers, is especially troubling,” he said.
To address the trend, Hamoonga announced that the police, in collaboration with key stakeholders, would implement enhanced road safety enforcement measures and awareness campaigns starting in the third quarter of 2025.
“These efforts will focus on high-risk areas such as major highways and urban centers to reduce preventable accidents and safeguard the lives of all road users,” he stated.
Hamoonga urged the public to take road safety seriously, follow traffic rules, and report reckless driving.
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