Statistics from the Rwanda National Police indicate that fatal and serious road accidents fell by 30 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019. 2020 was excluded from the comparison because it was marked by unprecedented lockdowns and movement restrictions. According to RNP figures, road accidents decreased from 1,467 in 2019 to 1,024 in 2021 thanks to speed cameras and other safety measures. Fatal road accidents scaled down from 622 in 2019 to 568 in 2021 whereas serious ones declined from 845 to 456 from 2019 to 2021, the police report says. Deaths and injuries resulting from the accidents have similarly decreased. Kigali accounted for 70 per cent of all road accidents that occurred in the country in 2021, while the Eastern provinces recorded 26 per cent of deaths resulting from accidents. Among the key contributors of the development are traffic cameras which were cited to play a huge role in enforcing road safety. Prior to 2021, Police had installed five-speed cameras in four suburbs of Kigali city, but they were increased in early 2021 and reached almost every main road of different district urban areas. Recently, Police introduced more traffic cameras to reign in errant drivers who violate traffic rules. The progress in reducing accidents and incidents shows that there is an opportunity to further curb road accidents and improve road safety through behavior adjustment and awareness raising. The drop in accidents show that drivers in Rwanda can adjust their behavior on the road. This shows that there is an opportunity for stakeholders in road safety to further reduce the accidents as well as improve road safety. Among the opportunities to improve road safety would be to further raise awareness that would remedy and correct problematic behaviors of Rwandan drivers. This would build up on the progress that has been achieved from rolling out speed cameras and the consequent caution of drivers.
