Road accidents and the number of deaths are increasing day by day in this country.
The Sri Lanka Medical Association emphasizes that the reason for this is reckless driving.
The experts point out that the people who have been involved in recent accidents are very young and do not have driving licenses, and that parents and adults should be responsible for these.
Despite the many instructions given, it is common to use mobile phones while traveling on the roads. The committee states that despite the many instructions, people who do not think for themselves and follow them with self-discipline will lose valuable lives that the country needs.
It was also pointed out that children under the age of twelve cannot be transported on motorcycles.
Here, whether you are driving a vehicle or walking as a pedestrian, you must have the discipline to walk on the road.
The Sri Lanka Medical Association says that about 3,000 people die in road accidents in this country every year.
Accordingly, 2,710 people have died in the past 2025.
Let us recognize our civic responsibility before the tragedy of people destined to die on the streets destroys our nation.*
We are a people who take our lives into our hands when we step onto the road. In such a country, the approaching period is not merely a festive season; it is a time when people frequently drop dead on the streets. We emphasize that the moment has come for us to individually comprehend this reality.
Data analysis conducted thus far indicates that road accident fatalities in the month of April are projected to increase by 10% to 30% compared to other months. Published data from just the last two years is sufficient to prove this. In April 2024, 204 people died on the roads. Within just the first two weeks of April 2025, the death toll on the roads was 105.
What you need to realize is that by the end of this month, following this pattern, between 200 and 220 people who are expected to return home in the evening will not make it back. Simply put, 6 to 7 people are destined to die on the streets every single day.
You must understand that there is no guarantee that the person who doesn’t return home won’t be you. We release this information to invite you to join in taking personal responsibility for preventing road accidents, with the understanding that not everything happens in isolation from us.
Over the past five years, more than 15,000 people have died pointlessly in road accidents in this country:
2020:* 2,363 road accident deaths,2021:* 2,513 deaths2022: Increased to 2,515 deaths,2023:* A slight decrease to 2,321 deaths
2024:* 2,521 deaths,2025:* Increased to a record 2,710 deaths
The most terrifying tragedy to pay attention to is announced by the Office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police for Traffic Control and Road Safety. A significant increase in road accident deaths has been reported in the first three months of this year compared to last year. According to data reported by March 10th of this year, 475 people have died in 457 fatal road accidents. The number of serious accidents reported is 983. The number of seriously injured is close to 1,800. Compared to 2025, this is an increase of 50 fatal accidents and 56 deaths.
A notable trend is that the majority of those who died in road accidents during the recent period were motorcyclists and their pillion riders. It has been observed that this is a noticeable increase compared to the previous year. In 2025, pedestrians were the most frequent victims of road accidents, accounting for 31% of total road accident fatalities.
According to this aligning data, we have a profoundly painful prediction to make. We are currently in the month of April. By the time the remaining 8 months pass and this year ends, over 2,000 more people are destined to die on the streets. It must be stated that every single individual holds the civic responsibility to save these lives.
The spectrum ranging from the reckless driver to the undisciplined pedestrian currently demonstrates on the highways the uncultured nature of the country, as well as the national tragedy of an inhumane society unable to show respect for human life.A recent study conducted jointly by the World Bank and Bloomberg Philanthropies has pointed out that by working to minimize deaths and injuries caused by road accidents, low- and middle-income countries have the opportunity to increase their per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 7% to 22% over a period of 24 years.
Commenting on this, Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, states that over 1.25 million people die globally in road accidents every year, and that investments in road safety can save lost human resources and strengthen the economy.
Jose Luis Irigoyen, Senior Director of the World Bank’s Transport Global Practice, mentioned that controlling road accidents is not just a victory in the transport sector, but a crucial step taken toward global development, public health, and economic growth.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, in some countries, a massive economic cost close to 3% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lost annually due to road accidents. Sri Lanka is also very close to this WHO interpretation.
What must be understood is that road accidents are not just statistics. They are the manifestation of a severe economic collapse targeting the country’s active labor force.
- It has been highlighted that primary income sources of family units are lost through road accidents, as two-thirds (2/3) of road accident deaths occur among the most productive working-age population between 18-59 years, and men face a death risk three times higher than women.
- According to the WHO’s 2019 Global Health Estimates, road accidents have become the 9th leading cause of death in Sri Lanka. A mortality rate of 19.72 per 100,000 population is reported from road accidents.
- The most dangerous situation is that, when considering the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) lost, road accidents have climbed to the 4th position on Sri Lanka’s disease list. Second only to non-communicable diseases like heart disease and diabetes (930.76 DALYs per 100,000 population), this situation adds an unbearable burden to Sri Lanka’s health system and government financial allocations.
Specifically in the South Asian region, the fact that 48% of accident fatalities involve motorcycles and three-wheelers has caused middle- and low-income families in this country to be dragged into an even more severe economic abyss.
Individually, we must realize that without establishing discipline on the highways, a nation cannot move even a single inch forward. This speaks to the nature of a transformation that must be cultivated within the individual spirit, rather than a burden managed solely by a legal system.
*We invite you to join as mindful citizens, driven by the motivation to prevent this ongoing national tragedy that is destined to continue in the future.
Anura Premalal
pic by-Thushara fermnendo
