Zambia on track to pass 3,000 road deaths in 2026
On current trends, Zambia will record more than 3,000 road deaths in 2026, the highest since at least 2012. Deaths need to rise just 7% in the final quarter to pass that mark.
Road Deaths
Road deaths are rising because crashes are rising, and enforcement has not kept up
ZRST analysis of police data from January 2025 to September 2026 finds road deaths up 21%, driven by more crashes rather than deadlier ones, while enforcement has stalled.
Head-on crash near Zimba: what this tragedy tells us about Zambia’s busiest southern highway
Two US citizens died and several Zambians were injured in a head-on crash on the T1 near Zimba. ZRST sets out why overtaking crashes keep happening on this corridor and what would prevent them.
Zambia’s Road Deaths Demand More Than Warnings and Fines
Safer school routes, accountable road budgets, properly managed fleets and reliable emergency care can turn road safety promises into practical protection. A new Safe System report offers lessons, but Zambia must apply them through its own institutions and everyday realities. Between April and June 2026, Zambia recorded 11,074 road crashes, including 602 fatal crashes that … Read more
Crashes Rise 18.6 Percent Over the 2026 Heroes and Unity Holiday as 43 People Die for the Second Consecutive Year
Home › Research and Data › Road Crash Analysis Road Safety Data Analysis A Zambia Road Safety Trust analysis of Zambia Police Service holiday-period statistics Lusaka, Zambia | July 2026 The Zambia Police Service recorded 409 road traffic crashes during the 2026 Heroes and Unity holiday period, including 40 fatal crashes and 43 deaths. Total … Read more
The Invisible Dead: How Zambia’s Road Crash Data System Fails to Count Young People
Policy Briefing The Data Gap Zambia’s national road crash data system, maintained by the Zambia Police Service, age-disaggregates casualties in only one category: children aged 0 to 16. Every road death, serious injury, or crash victim aged 17 or older is recorded without age. This means that any person aged 17 to 25, including university … Read more
Zambia’s Road Crash Data Has a Youth Blind Spot
Policy briefing note15 June 2026 Zambia Road Safety Trust Zambia’s road-crash data has a youth blind spot National crash figures do not publish casualties aged 17–25 as a distinct group. This makes it difficult to identify and respond to road risks affecting young people. Briefing summary Zambia reports casualties aged 0–16 separately. People aged 17 … Read more
Zambia Police annual stats report for 2025
The Zambia Police Service has issued its full statement on road traffic crashes for 2025. We have checked its arithmetic line by line before publishing: the provincial figures, the quarterly figures, the day-of-week figures and the road-user fatality figures each sum exactly to the stated totals, which deserves acknowledgement, because it is not something we … Read more