Police log 2,387 road accidents so far this year

Police have recorded 2,387 road accidents in the Maldives so far this year, putting the country on course to match or exceed last year's total. Figures published by the Maldives Police Service show 3,079 accidents were reported in the whole of 2025, and 2,882 in 2024. With two and a half months of this year still to run, the 2026 count already stands at 2,387. Accidents are the second most reported type of case the service handles, accounting for 24 percent of all cases this year. Only theft is more common, with 2,761 reports, or 27.7 percent of the total. Accidents made up 22.8 percent of reported cases in 2024 and 25.4 percent in 2025. The numbers come as police run special operations against reckless driving, particularly in the Male area, where accidents have been rising. A new land transport law came into force on 1 October, giving police the power to impose larger fines. Operating a vehicle that is unregistered, or driving against the regulations, now carries a fine of MVR 500 for a first offence, MVR 750 for a second and MVR 1,000 for each offence after that. Parliament has decided to summon police to answer questions about the rise in accidents. The risks facing officers enforcing the rules were underlined at the weekend, when a motorcycle ridden at more than 100km/h struck a police barricade and then an officer on duty at a checkpoint on the Sinamale Bridge highway, seriously injuring him. Four people were arrested.