THIRTY people died during the long weekend in various road accidents recorded across the country.
The accidents have been attributed to human error, including excessive speeding, misjudging clearance, negligent reversing, improper overtaking, and failure to keep to the nearside.
Police spokesperson, Godfrey Chilabi, disclosed that the 30 fatalities were recorded from 386 road traffic accidents during the Easter holiday period, from April 2 at 18:00 hours to April 7 at 06:00 hours.
He said that of the 386 accidents, 22 were fatal, resulting in 30 deaths.
“A further 37 were serious accidents in which 75 people were seriously injured, while 90 were slight injury accidents, accounting for 125 minor injuries. The remaining 237 were damage-only accidents,” Mr Chilabi said.
He noted that a comparison with the same period in 2025 shows an increase of 60 accidents, rising from 326 in 2025 to 386 in 2026.
Mr Chilabi said Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of accidents at 154, followed by Copperbelt Province with 104, while Central Province recorded 31 accidents.
“North-Western Province recorded 21 accidents, while Southern and Muchinga provinces recorded 18 each. Eastern Province recorded 17 accidents, Western and Luapula provinces recorded eight each, and Northern Province recorded the least, with seven accidents,” he said.
Mr Chilabi further added that traffic offences increased by 516 cases this year, resulting in an additional ZMW 167,560.00 in fines collected.
“During the 2025 Easter holiday period, a total of 2,044 road traffic offences were recorded, generating ZMW 840,420.00 in admission of guilt fines,” he said.
He urged all motorists and road users to adhere to traffic regulations at all times to help curb accidents.
