One deadly accident per month on the roads this year

[Photo: Renato Marques]

Official statistics from the Public Security Police Force (PSP) show that, on average, one person died each month in the first nine months of this year as a result of traffic accidents.

The statistic, just released by the PSP, shows that nine people died from January to September, including six pedestrians.

The figure shows a 125% year-over-year increase. In the same period last year, four people died.

Pedestrian accidents contributed to the significant increase. As noted, two-thirds (6) of the total traffic-accident deaths during the period were pedestrians. This figure contrasts sharply with the previous year, when no pedestrian deaths were recorded.

Despite the consequences, there were fewer pedestrian-involved accidents this year (-18.39%), underscoring the severity of the cases recorded.

Fewer accidents and infractions

Overall, the force recorded fewer accidents (-6.25%), down to 10,393, while injuries also fell by 6.29% to 3,844.

At the same time, the PSP noted that road traffic law infractions also fell, but only marginally (-1.2%), resulting in fewer fines and a lower total (-5.23%) collected.

Still, PSP collected over MOP133 million in the first nine months of this year, averaging MOP14.8 million per month in traffic fines.

Parking infractions accounted for the largest share of the total, particularly abusive parking in metered spots, which rose 85.23% to almost 94,000 cases.

Vehicle clamping cases also rose significantly to 10,441, up 32.21% y-o-y. Cases of clamping in metered parking spots rose the most (38.1%).

DUI with mixed trend

According to the statistics released, cases of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol showed a mixed trend, with the overall number of cases decreasing by 9% but some sub-sectors recording significant increases. Among these, cases involving motorcyclists with a blood alcohol content equal to or higher than 1.2g/l increased by 55.6%.

This increase is even higher when we consider only the cases involving male motorcyclists. In this case, the increase was 80% y-o-y.

The PSP also noted that the number of cases of drivers found to have a higher concentration of blood alcohol than the legally allowed level following a traffic accident has surged by almost 22%.

Fewer drivers caught on the phone

Data from the PSP also showed that the number of drivers and riders caught using their mobile phones fell 11.1% year over year to 1,255 cases.

Car drivers saw the largest decline, down 152 cases, or 11.8%.

At the same time, the number of drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians at zebra crossings almost doubled, rising from 484 cases in 2025 to 959 this year.

Fewer speeding cases, more running red lights

According to the same statistics, speeding cases fell by 59% (16 cases) in the first nine months of this year.

Meanwhile, red-light running cases rose 85.7% to 7,374, more than 819 per month.

The increase was even higher (110.1%) among car drivers, with 5,190 cases.

Taxi drivers with fewer infractions

The PSP prosecuted 1,311 taxi violations from January to September, an 18% year-over-year decrease. Of these violations, more than half (734) involved failing to respect the line at taxi stands.

Refusal of transport dropped by almost 72% to 107 cases, while overcharging dropped by almost half (-48%) to 21 cases.

The police said they found 38 cases involving transportation provided by unlicensed vehicles, a 19.2% decrease.