Zambia’s roads killed 859 people between 1 July and 30 September 2026, according to figures released by Zambia Police spokesperson Chipo Kaitisha in Lusaka on Wednesday 21 October and reported by Zambia Monitor and News Diggers. Police recorded 12,865 road traffic accidents in the quarter: 747 fatal, 1,202 causing serious injury, 2,706 causing slight injury and 8,210 involving only damage to property. A further 2,144 people were seriously hurt.
The comparison with the third quarter of 2025 is stark. Crashes rose from 10,126 to 12,865, an increase of 2,739 or about 27 per cent, Zambia Monitor reports; fatal crashes rose from 583 to 747 and deaths from 753 to 859. Road traffic offences recorded went up only slightly, from 49,564 to 50,100, while revenue from admission-of-guilt fines fell from about K22.6 million to about K19.2 million.
Where and why
Lusaka Province accounted for 6,325 of the crashes, nearly half the national total, followed by the Copperbelt with 2,378 and Central Province with 1,194; Northern Province recorded the fewest at 252. Police attribute most crashes to human error, with excessive speed cited 3,014 times, misjudging clearance distance 1,897 times, failing to keep to the nearside 1,571 times, cutting in 1,231 times and ignoring signs and signals 1,163 times.
Children under 16 were among 560 casualties, of whom 91 died and 186 were seriously injured; most were pedestrians or passengers. There were 410 hit-and-run crashes, 68 of them fatal.
The impact of accidents on children under the age of 16 remains a major concern.
— Chipo Kaitisha, Zambia Police spokesperson, in a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday 21 October, as reported by Zambia Monitor
Ms Kaitisha said the police would step up road-safety campaigns and enforcement, and urged drivers to avoid speeding, drink-driving and phone use, to keep vehicles roadworthy and to wear seat belts.
Zimba
The statistics were released the day after a crash that illustrates the most common of those causes. At about 17:40 on Tuesday 20 October a Toyota Fortuner travelling south and a Hino Ranger travelling north collided head-on at Sky Layby on the Great North Road, about 10 km south of Zimba in Southern Province, Lusaka Times reports. Two American passengers in the Fortuner, both aged 67, died at the scene; their bodies are at Zimba Mission Hospital awaiting post-mortem examination. Eight people were injured and taken to Livingstone University Teaching Hospital. Southern Province Commanding Officer Moono Namalongo said in a statement to ZANIS that the Hino driver had attempted to overtake improperly while travelling uphill, and reminded drivers to be sure the road ahead is clear.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “859 die from 12,865 road accidents between July and September, 2026 — Zambia Police” (21 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Police record over 12,000 RTAs, 859 deaths in Q3” (21 Oct 2026); Lusaka Times, “Two American nationals die in Zimba road accident” (21 Oct 2026).