By Money Daily Reporter
Zambia Police Service has disclosed that the country’s road traffic accidents surged by 60 cases during the 2026 Easter holiday, rising from 326 in 2025 to 386 this year, representing an 18.4 percent increase.
Police Public Relations Officer, Godfrey Chilabi disclosed that of the 386 accidents, 22 were fatal, resulting in 30 deaths.
Mr. Chilabi revealed that a further 37 were serious accidents in which 75 people were seriously injured, while 90 were slight injury accidents, accounting for 125 minor injuries, with the remaining 237 being damage-only accidents.
He said fatal accidents increased slightly from 21 in 2025 to 22 in 2026, but that the number of fatalities reduced from 32 to 30.
Mr. Chilabi noted that serious accidents decreased from 43 in 2025 to 37 in 2026, with serious injuries also dropping from 81 to 75.
“In contrast, slight injury accidents increased from 61 in 2025 to 90 in 2026, with minor injuries rising from 91 to 125. Damage-only accidents also increased, from 201 in 2025 to 237 in 2026,” he added.
Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of accidents at 154, followed by Copperbelt Province with 104. Central Province recorded 31 cases, North-Western Province 21, while Southern and Muchinga provinces recorded 18 each.
Eastern Province recorded 17 accidents, Western and Luapula provinces recorded eight each, while Northern Province recorded the least, with seven accidents.
Mr. Chilabi attributed the increase in accidents to violations of traffic regulations and urged motorists to adhere to road safety rules.
“Most of the accidents during this period were attributed to human error, including excessive speeding, misjudging clearance, negligent reversing, improper overtaking (cutting in), and failure to keep to the nearside,” Mr. Chilabi stated.
He noted that most accidents occurred on Friday and Saturday, largely due to increased traffic volumes.
