Sri Lanka Police revealed today (27) that a total of 301 people have lost their lives in traffic accidents between 1 January and 21 February 2025.
In a public statement on their official Facebook page, the Police urged the public to exercise caution while driving and to adhere strictly to traffic rules to prevent further loss of life on the roads.
A study conducted in 2021 by Prof. J.M.K.B. Jayasekara and Piyumi Weerawardhana from the Kotelawala Defence University’s Department of Nursing and Midwifery highlighted several human factors contributing to road accidents. The study found that age, alcohol consumption, sleep difficulties, fatigue, stress, and lack of safety measures were major contributors.
The study, which analyzed the driving habits of 360 drivers admitted to accident wards in Kandy and Kurunegala, found that 46.4% of drivers had at least eight hours of sleep the night before the accident, while 23.6% had slept for less than six hours.
Additionally, the study showed that 27.8% of accidents involved drivers travelling at speeds between 46 and 60 km/h, highlighting the impact of high-speed driving.
The Traffic Police Division’s statistics show that over the past five years, Sri Lanka’s roads have been marked by fluctuating accident numbers, persistent fatalities, and continued struggles with reckless driving.
- In 2020, there were 23,704 road accidents, with a death toll of 2,363.
- In 2021, accidents decreased slightly to 22,847, but fatalities increased to 2,557.
- In 2022, accidents dropped further to 21,953, but deaths remained high at 2,540.
- 2023 saw a significant rise in accidents, with 24,894, but fatalities dropped to 2,341.
- In 2024, accidents surged to 25,299, the highest in five years, with fatalities rising again to 2,521.
The study also observed a shift in the severity of accidents, with serious crashes initially decreasing from 6,949 in 2020 to 6,206 in 2022, before surging to 7,157 in 2024. Minor accidents have followed a similar pattern, fluctuating between 8,706 in 2020 and 9,996 in 2024.
