Written By | Staff Writer
The country recorded 26,044 road crashes in 2025, up from 25,107 in 2024, representing a 3.7 per cent increase
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KAMPALA
Uganda’s road safety crisis worsened in 2025, with the number of road crashes, deaths and serious injuries all increasing compared with the previous year, according to police statistics.
The country recorded 26,044 road crashes in 2025, up from 25,107 in 2024, representing a 3.7 per cent increase.
The crashes left 5,383 people dead and 18,444 seriously injured.
The figures come against the backdrop of a number of fatal crashes in recent days.
On August 3, a crash at Lwera Swamp along the Kampala-Masaka highway killed 14 people.
Four days later, on August 7, a head-on collision at Namulanda along Entebbe Road killed Next Media staff members Badru Kasirye and Isaac Ndamagye. Their colleague, Brian “Makona” Ssemanda, was critically injured.
Police said the exact cause of the Namulanda crash remains under investigation.
Next Media's Badru Kasirye and Isaac Ndamagye were killed in an accident at Namulanda along Entebbe Road
71 crashes every day
Of the 26,044 crashes recorded in 2025, 4,602 were fatal, 13,563 were serious and 7,879 were minor.
On average, this translates to about 71 crashes, 15 deaths and 50 serious injuries every day throughout the year.
The situation deteriorated across all major indicators compared with 2024.
Road crashes increased from 25,107 to 26,044, a 3.7 per cent rise, while deaths increased from 5,144 to 5,383, representing a 4.7 per cent increase.
Serious injuries rose from 17,013 to 18,444, an increase of 8.4 per cent.
The increase in serious injuries was more than twice the rate of growth in the number of crashes.
Careless overtaking and speeding drive crashes
Police attributed 21.8 per cent of crashes to careless overtaking and another 20.5 per cent to speeding.
Together, the two behaviours accounted for 42.3 per cent of all crashes recorded nationally in 2025.
The report also shows that most crashes occurred on straight sections of road, suggesting that driver behaviour remains a major factor in road safety.
Pedestrians among the biggest casualties
Pedestrian collisions were the most common type of crash in 2025, accounting for about one in every five crashes.
Police recorded 1,776 pedestrian deaths, an increase of 6.6 per cent from 2024.
Of these deaths, 43 per cent occurred while pedestrians were crossing the road, while another 32 per cent occurred as pedestrians were walking along the roadside.
The figures highlight the continued vulnerability of pedestrians, particularly on roads where there are inadequate facilities to separate them from motorised traffic.
Motorcycles involved in 35 per cent of crashes
Motorcycles accounted for the largest share of vehicles involved in crashes in 2025, at 35 per cent.
Motorcars followed at 28 per cent.
Motorcyclist deaths increased by 5 per cent during the year, adding to concerns about the safety of motorcycle users, who form a significant part of Uganda’s road transport system.
Crashes peak on Friday, deaths on Sunday
The distribution of crashes also varied by day of the week.
Police recorded 3,921 crashes on Fridays, the highest number for any day, followed closely by 3,913 crashes on Saturdays.
Fatalities, however, followed a different pattern.
Sunday recorded 810 deaths, making it the deadliest day of the week, followed by Saturday with 729 deaths.
Police also recorded 711 fatal crashes between 6:00 p.m. and 7:59 p.m., highlighting the evening period as a particularly dangerous time on Uganda’s roads.
Enforcement falls as deaths rise
While road crashes and fatalities increased, traffic enforcement activity declined significantly in 2025.
Police registered 322,441 traffic offences, down 24.4 per cent from 426,432 offences in 2024.
Among the offences handled were 76,069 cases involving vehicles in poor mechanical condition, 67,190 cases of careless driving, and 7,158 cases involving riders without helmets.
The decline in enforcement activity coincided with a 4.7 per cent increase in road deaths.
The figures raise questions about whether the level of traffic enforcement is sufficient to deter dangerous road behaviour and improve road safety.
The test should be whether fewer people die
Uganda has had a Traffic and Road Safety Act since 1998.
The 2020 amendment abolished the National Road Safety Council, and no replacement body currently carries its coordinating mandate.
Ultimately, the clearest measure of whether Uganda’s road safety interventions are working is whether fewer people are dying on the roads.
In 2024, 5,144 people died in road crashes.
In 2025, the number rose to 5,383.
For now, the most important indicator is moving in the wrong direction.
