Traffic accidents claimed 76 lives in Bahrain last year, with men accounting for more than three-quarters of the fatalities, it has been revealed.
According to the Information and eGovernment Authority’s Bahrain Open Data Portal (data.gov.bh), the kingdom registered 968 accidents across the four governorates – 66 of which were fatal.
A total of 318,296 violations were recorded last year – 1,267 for driving without a licence and 347 for driving under influence while 72,468 tickets were handed for overspeeding, and 4,524 for parking violations. The remaining were described as ‘other violations’.
The Capital Governorate recorded the highest number of traffic accidents, with 343 incidents reported. More than half of these cases (178) resulted in serious injuries, while 134 crashes (39pc) caused slight injuries, and 31 accidents (9pc) were fatal.
The new smart traffic cameras
The Northern Governorate witnessed a total of 291 accidents, of which 137 (47.1pc) led to serious injuries. Moderate injuries were recorded in 135 cases (46.4pc), while 19 accidents (6.5pc) resulted in fatalities.
In the Southern Governorate, 112 accidents (51.8pc) resulted in serious injuries, 91 (42pc) saw slight injuries, and 13 resulted in fatalities (6.2pc).
The Muharraq Governorate reported the lowest number of accidents and fatalities during 2025, with 118 incidents recorded. Most of these accidents (76, or 64.5pc) caused serious injuries, while 39 cases (33pc) resulted in slight injuries. Fatal accidents were limited to three cases, accounting for just 2.5pc of the total.
In total, 66 fatal accidents resulted in the deaths of 76 people – 66 men and 10 women. Meanwhile, 399 accidents resulted in slight injuries and 503 saw serious injuries.
According to the data, most of the fatalities (14 cases, 21.2pc) occurred because the drivers involved in the collisions failed to leave a safe distance between vehicles.
Ten accidents were caused by driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both. Reckless driving was responsible for nine incidents, while eight accidents occurred after drivers ran a red light. Six incidents resulted from unsafe lane changes.
Additionally, five accidents took place when drivers failed to give way to pedestrians who had the right of crossing. Conversely, four incidents were attributed to pedestrians not adhering to traffic regulations.
Other reasons listed included failure to follow traffic signs, reversing carelessly, causing damage to public and private property, taking a phone call while driving, overtaking dangerously, and driving against the flow of traffic.
The GDN reported that the first phase of Bahrain’s hi-tech smart camera system was launched at the end of January in a move aimed at enhancing road safety. They came shortly after six lives were lost that month alone due to traffic accidents.
The most common violations detected by smart cameras include exceeding the speed limit, running red lights, using the emergency vehicles lane (yellow lane), and using a handheld mobile phone while driving. The cameras also monitor failure to wear seat belts by both drivers and front-seat passengers, as well as cases involving children seated in the front seat. Around 500 high-resolution cameras are expected to be installed on roads and streets nationwide in the coming years.
Recently, a delivery driver, who recklessly rode across a pedestrian crossing on his motorcycle to take a shortcut, caused the deaths of three pedestrians. He is now on trial at the High Criminal Court, where he is facing charges relating to manslaughter.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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