Saudi Arabia sees significant improvement in road safety

Road safety in Saudi Arabia has improved significantly in recent years, according to the 2025 annual report of Saudi Arabia’s Ministerial Committee of Traffic Safety

The report highlighted a significant improvement in road safety indicators across the Kingdom, recording a dramatic reduction of more than 60% in traffic fatalities between 2016 and 2025, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Traffic fatalities fell from 8,632 deaths in 2016 to 4,438 in 2025, while the number of injuries decreased from 36,787 to 24,290, a reduction of around 34%. From 23,263 serious accidents in 2019, the figure declined to 17,805 in 2025, representing a decrease of almost 23%.

The main causes of accidents were insufficient safe following distance (29.2%), sudden swerving (27.9%), failure to give right of way (10.3%), distracted driving (5.6%), and driving against traffic flow (0.7%), highlighting the need to further promote safe driving behaviour.

In 2025, the Kingdom’s traffic fatality rate fell to 12.05 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 28.8 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016, a drop of around 58%.

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 combined efforts of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health, Ministerial Committee of Traffic Safety, regional traffic safety committees and other authorities, have seen measures implemented ranging from improving the road infrastructure and signage to traffic law enforcement and instilling safe driver behaviour.

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 Roads General Authority (RGA), the national regulator of Saudi Arabia’s road sector, aims to raise the quality of roads to rank sixth globally by 2030 and reduce road fatalities to fewer than five per 100,000 people.

Road network upgrade

In 2026, Saudi Arabia pushed ahead with a major upgrade of its national road network to support safer pilgrim movement during Hajj, as part of a broader, multi-sector transport readiness plan, according to Saudi Press Agency reports.

The RGA deployed what it described as the world’s largest fleet of advanced road surveying and assessment equipment to enhance safety and efficiency across the Kingdom’s roads. According to the SPA, the fleet uses high-resolution cameras and laser sensors capable of detecting surface defects such as cracks and rutting with precision of up to 0.05 millimeters, alongside systems measuring pavement thickness, road alignment and skid resistance.

In the Madinah Region, the RGA launched a centralised road operations centre designed to strengthen monitoring and response capabilities during the pilgrimage period, bringing contractors and reporting teams together in one location to streamline communication, improve coordination and accelerate responses to incidents and emergencies.

The authority said the centre enables direct monitoring of weather developments and emergency situations, allowing officials to make faster operational decisions and improve traffic management.

The RGA is also promoting the use of new materials and road cooling technology as part of long-term efforts to improve road quality, boost safety standards and improve the efficiency of the road network in the drive to rank among the world’s leading countries for road quality by 2030.