Road accidents in Morocco surged to alarming levels in 2024, with authorities reporting over 143,000 traffic incidents that resulted in the deaths of 4,024 individuals, reflecting an increase of 16.22% in the number of accidents and 5.37% in fatalities compared to 2023. These figures prompted the Ministry of Transport and Logistics to launch an urgent national road safety program in the summer of 2025, aiming to curb the rising toll on Moroccan roads.
During a meeting of the Permanent Road Safety Committee in Rabat, Transport Minister Abdel-Samad Kiyouh confirmed that over 70% of accident victims are motorcyclists and pedestrians, who are considered "vulnerable" categories, necessitating urgent structural measures to ensure their safety. The first five months of 2025 saw a nearly 21% rise in fatalities and serious injuries compared to the same period last year.
The summer urgent plan includes strict measures such as enhanced speed monitoring and helmet use for motorcyclists, the deployment of mobile traffic monitoring units, restrictions on vehicle ownership transfers until violations are settled, as well as the use of smart cameras and radars. New equipment has also been introduced, including speed measurement devices specifically for motorcycles, portable radar systems, and devices for checking vehicle chassis numbers.
These measures come amid a grim reality of recurrent traffic accidents in Morocco, leading to significant human and economic losses. In recent years, the country has reported high numbers of deaths and serious injuries, with profound effects on victims and their families, as confirmed by official reports and analyses from road safety experts. Statistics indicate that human factors are responsible for 95% of accidents, attributed to behaviors such as speeding, disregarding traffic rules, and phone usage while driving, along with issues in driving education.
The Moroccan government, through its National Road Safety Strategy (2017-2026), seeks to halve the number of fatalities by 2026, focusing on awareness campaigns, infrastructure improvement, driver monitoring, and strict enforcement of violations. However, recent figures suggest that Morocco still has a long way to go to meet this goal, especially with the ongoing occurrence of tragic incidents such as bus overturns that have claimed dozens of lives in recent years.
In light of these circumstances, road safety remains a national challenge that requires collective mobilization from all stakeholders, with strict implementation of preventive measures, enhancement of awareness campaigns, and the development of monitoring systems to ensure the protection of lives and reduce human and material losses on Moroccan roads.
