Sri Lanka Police Identified 732 Dangerous Roads. Which Were Fixed?

Sri Lanka Police identified 732 high-risk accident locations across the national road network in 2025 and referred them to state engineering authorities for urgent remedial action. However, public records contain no location-by-location progress register showing which of those hazardous sites have actually been rectified.

Police stations were instructed to monitor the identified locations and submit regular progress updates to Traffic Police Headquarters. Over a year later, national accident statistics and Road Development Authority (RDA) procurement plans are published separately, but Lakbima News could locate no central public record connecting identified blackspots directly to completed engineering works.

The absence of a public tracking list marks a critical gap in state accountability. Under the Multi-Sectoral Strategic Action Plan on Injury Prevention and Management (2021–2025), the RDA, provincial road agencies, and local government bodies were explicitly tasked with rectifying dangerous locations based on fatal and life-threatening crash data, using the percentage of rectified blackspots as a primary performance metric.

National Fatality Trends and Policy Commitments

Official police records document 2,583 fatal crashes in 2025 resulting in 2,732 deaths, alongside 5,276 serious accidents out of 22,153 total road crashes recorded nationwide. That compares with 2,253 recorded road fatalities in 2024.

Causal Factors Beyond Infrastructure

While poor road geometry and maintenance increase crash risk, official assessments note that speed, alcohol, fatigue, vehicle defects, and pedestrian behavior contribute heavily to road trauma. Investigative analysis therefore focuses on whether state authorities took action on previously flagged engineering hazards rather than assuming infrastructure flaws caused every incident.

Case Study: A1 Kiribathgoda Corridor

Site-level documentation illustrates the level of scrutiny possible when public records align. Academic crash modeling along the A1 highway identified the section around No. 60 Kandy Road in Kiribathgoda as a severe blackspot, recording 79 crashes—including three fatal and 15 grievous incidents—between 2016 and 2020.

Such auditing is currently impossible for the vast majority of identified sites because state authorities have not published the full 732-location register.

Comparative Audit: Matara Junction Data

A spatial analysis using 2023 crash data evaluated 25 major intersections in Matara, identifying five junctions with exceptionally high severity ratings:

Although researchers recommended specific engineering interventions—including upgraded pedestrian crossings and traffic-calming measures—a Lakbima News audit of the RDA’s 2025 Annual Procurement Plan found no capital projects explicitly named after these five junctions.

While major infrastructure spending was allocated to the region—such as Rs. 400 million for widening the Matara-Akuressa Road between kilometer 4 and kilometer 20.09—RDA documentation places Nupe Junction near the route’s starting point, outside that kilometer 4 project boundary.

Safety Engineering Expenditures and Dedicated Funds

RDA procurement disclosures confirm active capital spending on safety hardware across primary routes:

Despite these capital outlays, available records fail to establish whether state funds were prioritized according to the 732 high-risk locations identified by Police.

Concurrently, a National Audit Office examination of the National Council for Road Safety revealed significant fund underutilization. Of Rs. 222.67 million collected from insurance levies over a three-year period, the Council disbursed only Rs. 100.45 million (roughly 45%) for safety management and victim relief, citing operational vacancies and planning delays. Furthermore, half of the 32 projects outlined in its 2022–2024 corporate plan were omitted from annual action plans.

The Need for a Central Rectification Register

National fatality figures inform the public on overall road mortality but fail to show whether flagged pedestrian crossings received lighting, dangerous curves received barriers, or known hazardous junctions remained unaddressed.

Lakbima News previously reported on newer regulatory approaches to traffic enforcement in My Car, My Petrol Only at Home: Minister Reveals New Road Safety Rules.