COLOMBO, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government has approved the implementation of the Road Protection Action Plan 2025-2026 to address the country's persistent road accidents and fatalities, which have reached levels above internationally accepted limits.
According to official data, the annual death rate from road accidents in Sri Lanka stands at 11.2 per 10,000 people, exceeding the United Nations-approved protection threshold for the second global action decade (2021-2030) on road safety.
Police statistics show that between 2020 and 2024, a total of 118,697 road accidents were reported across the island, resulting in 12,322 deaths. Authorities have also recorded around 400 accidents caused by unprotected railway crossings.
"The need to improve road infrastructure has been recognized, along with ensuring the safe use and proper regulation of vehicles, in order to reduce rising fatalities and damages and to create a safer, more equitable road environment for all users," Sri Lankan cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said.
The proposal to implement the Road Protection Action Plan 2025-2026 was presented to the cabinet by the acting minister of transport, highways, and urban development and received approval on Monday. ■
