Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety has reported a 19.2% drop in traffic offenses but a 6.4% increase in road crashes in 2024, according to the latest Annual Police Crime Report.
While the decline in traffic offenses from 528,025 cases in 2023 to 426,432 cases in 2024 shows improved enforcement, the rise in accidents remains a major concern. The total number of road crashes rose to 25,107, a significant increase from the previous year.
Traffic police director Nuwabiine Lawrence categorized the crashes into fatal crashes, with 4,434 cases resulting in deaths, serious crashes, with 13,134 cases causing major injuries, and minor crashes, with 7,539 cases causing minor or no injuries. The number of people affected by road crashes also increased by 4.4%, with 25,808 victims in 2024, up from 24,728 in 2023. Fatalities rose by 7%, while serious injuries increased by 1.7%.
The report identified 6:00 PM to 7:59 PM as the deadliest time for road accidents, with 3,780 crashes recorded during this period. Sundays had the highest number of crashes, with 3,790 cases, followed closely by Saturdays and Mondays.
The most common causes of accidents in 2024 included careless overtaking, which accounted for 5,657 cases or 44.5% of crashes, speeding, with 5,505 cases, hit-and-run incidents, careless pedestrians, with 946 cases, mobile phone use while driving, drunk driving, fatigue, and disregard for traffic lights. Rear-end collisions, commonly referred to as tailgating, accounted for 16.2% of crashes, while side-swipes made up 17.7%. Head-on collisions caused 13%, and angle collisions accounted for 10.5%.
Motorcyclists were the most vulnerable road users, with 1,720 deaths in 2024, marking a 13.2% increase from 2023. Fatalities among motorcycle passengers rose by 10.1%, from 614 deaths in 2023 to 676 in 2024. In contrast, driver fatalities saw a slight decline of 1.7%.
To address the rising road crashes, authorities are implementing several measures, including mandatory vehicle inspections to remove unroadworthy cars from the roads, automated driver testing to ensure drivers are properly trained, intelligent traffic monitoring systems for real-time enforcement, and infrastructure improvements such as dedicated pedestrian and cyclist lanes.
Additionally, the government is fast-tracking an intelligent transport monitoring system, which will enhance traffic control. In the long run, authorities plan to redesign roads, improve public transport systems like railways and the Cairo bus system, and create separate lanes for different road users to enhance safety.
