Saudi Arabia records over 60% drop in traffic fatalities between 2016 and 2025

RIYADH — There has been a historic drop of more than 60 percent in traffic fatalities in Saudi Arabia during the period between 2016 and 2025, according to the 2025 annual report of the Ministerial Committee of Traffic Safety. The report highlighted a significant improvement in road safety indicators across the Kingdom. This progress is attributed to coordinated multi-sector efforts, expanded use of technology to reduce violations, improved infrastructure efficiency, and enhanced emergency response systems. The report noted key developments in 2025, including updates to the traffic system with stricter measures for serious violations by foreign drivers, improved emergency response times, and the introduction of Saudi Road Code standards in new projects, supporting infrastructure safety and sustainability. The main causes of accidents were insufficient safe following distance (29.2percent), sudden swerving (27.9 percent), failure to give right of way (10.3 percent), distracted driving (5.6 percent), and driving against traffic flow (0.7 percent), highlighting the need to further promote safe driving behavior. The report also reviewed urban and intercity traffic trends, fatality and injury rates per 100,000 people, and accident distribution across age groups and nationalities, while benchmarking the Kingdom’s indicators against selected G20 countries.RIYADH — There has been a historic drop of more than 60 percent in traffic fatalities in Saudi Arabia during the period between 2016 and 2025, according to the 2025 annual report of the Ministerial Committee of Traffic Safety. The report highlighted a significant improvement in road safety indicators across the Kingdom. This progress is attributed to coordinated multi-sector efforts, expanded use of technology to reduce violations, improved infrastructure efficiency, and enhanced emergency response systems. The report noted key developments in 2025, including updates to the traffic system with stricter measures for serious violations by foreign drivers, improved emergency response times, and the introduction of Saudi Road Code standards in new projects, supporting infrastructure safety and sustainability. The main causes of accidents were insufficient safe following distance (29.2percent), sudden swerving (27.9 percent), failure to give right of way (10.3 percent), distracted driving (5.6 percent), and driving against traffic flow (0.7 percent), highlighting the need to further promote safe driving behavior. The report also reviewed urban and intercity traffic trends, fatality and injury rates per 100,000 people, and accident distribution across age groups and nationalities, while benchmarking the Kingdom’s indicators against selected G20 countries.