The ATO road safety profiles offer insights into the road safety in 28 Asia-Pacific countries by utilizing road safety related data from various sources and policy information extracted from a range of documents.

The profiles were created by the Asian Transport Observatory —in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO), and the International Road Federation (IRF)— as an input to global discussions on road safety, in time for the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Marrakech, Morocco.

Road safety in Sri Lanka presents a complex picture, with some improvements observed alongside persistent challenges. In 2021, it was estimated about 3 thousand fatalities in Sri Lanka due to road crashes. (WHO) Road crash injuries accounted for 1.6% of deaths in Sri Lanka in 2021. While the country has made some progress in reducing road traffic fatalities, more concerted efforts are needed to achieve ambitious global targets. This narrative explores the current status of road safety in Sri Lanka, examining data discrepancies, disaggregated data insights, economic costs, crash ratings, motorization trends, benchmarking, and the policy landscape.

Only minor discrepancy exists between reported road crash fatalities in Sri Lanka and WHO estimates.

Analyzing disaggregated data provides crucial insights into the specific vulnerabilities of different road user groups. The share of females in road crash fatalities in Sri Lanka remained at 19% between 2010 and 2021. Based on the Global Burden of Disease statistics, the share in road crash fatalities of the minors (<14 years old) and seniors (>65 years old) road user group (combined) in Sri Lanka remained at 46% between 2015 and 2019. Critically, pedestrians and bicyclists constitute a disproportionately high share of fatalities. The combined share of pedestrians and bicyclists in total road traffic crash fatalities in Sri Lanka as given by the WHO, was 70% for 2021. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific average was 31%. This underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions to protect these vulnerable road users.

The economic burden of road crashes in Sri Lanka is substantial. These fatalities, combined with serious injuries, cost about 3 billion USD, for 2021, which is roughly 3% of Sri Lanka's GDP. As a reference, in the same year, healthcare expenditure in Sri Lanka amounted to 4.1% of its GDP.

Road crashes constitute about 89% of the total implicit costs due to fossil fuel subsidies in transport. IRAP estimates that an annual investment of 237 million USD, or just about 0.3% of Sri Lanka's GDP, could save about 900 fatalities annually. These costs highlight the compelling economic case for investing in road safety improvements.

The shares of road infrastructure in Sri Lanka with 3 stars or better IRAP ratings for pedestrians and bicyclists as of 2024 was 9% and 31%, respectively. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific numbers were 14% for pedestrians and 22% for bicyclists. At least 61% of the road infrastructure in Sri Lanka has 3-star or better rating for vehicle occupants, while only about 47% of road infrastructure has 3-star or better rating for motorcyclists. Sri Lanka had about 25 fatalities per thousand kilometers of road. These ratings reveal gaps in infrastructure safety, particularly for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists, and emphasize the need for upgrades to meet higher safety standards.

Sri Lanka has experienced rapid motorization, contributing to the road safety challenge. By 2022, there were 383.6 vehicles per thousand population in Sri Lanka. This is shared by 58% of 2-wheelers, 14% of 3-wheelers, 11% of LDVs, 1% of buses, 5% of trucks, and 11% of other vehicle types. Managing this growth sustainably and safely is essential.

In Sri Lanka, road crash fatalities decreased by approximately -3.6% per year between 2016 and 2021. While Sri Lanka's fatality rate is lower than the South Asia average, it still lags behind the Asia-Pacific average. This suggests that Sri Lanka can learn from best practices in the region to accelerate progress. The road traffic crash fatality rate in Sri Lanka for the year 2021 was 11.5 per 100,000 population. Compare this with the Asia-Pacific average of 15.2 deaths per 100,000 population or against the South Asia average of about 16.1 in the same year. WHO estimates the fatalities in Sri Lanka changing from 13.6 in 2010 to 11.5 deaths per 100,000 population in 2021, equivalent to a -15% decrease. During this period, Asia-Pacific experienced an improvement of about -19% while South Asia also decreased by -10%.

Sri Lanka had about 30 fatalities per 100 thousand registered vehicles.

• Urgent action needed to reduce road fatalities The Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 aims to cut road fatalities in half by 2030. An annual reduction of at least 7.4% is necessary to achieve this.
• Asia-Pacific region falling behind Despite reaching a peak in road crash fatalities, the Asia-Pacific region is not on track to meet the 2030 goal. The average annual reduction in deaths between 2016 and 2021 was only 0.6%, far below the required rate.
• Varying progress across Asia Using the 2016-2021 road crash fatality growth rate as a basis for estimates until 2030:
  • Only 3 Asian countries are projected to achieve the 50% reduction target by 2030.
  • 18 Asian countries are expected to reduce fatalities by at least 25%.
  • Worryingly, 7 Asian countries will continue to increase road fatalities, moving further away from the target.
• In Sri Lanka, road crash fatalities decreased by approximately -3.6% per year between 2016 and 2021. However, this is not enough to reach the 2030 target to halve the fatalities by 2030

Sri Lanka's policy landscape includes several documents, directly and indirectly, relevant to road safety. There are no road safety targets in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka has targets that have indirect benefits to road safety such as on budget of road safety projects, development of active and public transport plan, active mobility, road space repurpose to allow access for other modes, and implementing vehicle scrappage scheme. Other policy documents with indirect road safety benefits include the National Transport Policy of Sri Lanka, Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision and Strategic Path, Public Investment Program 2021, Updated Nationally Determined Contributions, and National Action Plan for Haritha Lanka Programme. While these policies address various aspects of transport, a comprehensive and dedicated national road safety strategy with clear targets and dedicated funding is crucial for achieving significant improvements.

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