Published: January 23, 2026
Monrovia — Road crashes killed at least 236 people across Liberia last year, according to police statistics released Thursday, as Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah warned that growing recklessness by drivers, especially commercial motorcyclists and tricycle riders, is turning the country’s roads into a deadly threat for passengers and pedestrians.
Speaking at the government’s regular Thursday press briefing in Monrovia, Piah said data compiled by the Liberia National Policerecorded 1,564 road traffic accidents in 2025, leaving 992 people injured in addition to the deaths.
“Whether you’re driving an actual motor vehicle or a keke… or a pen-pen, the recklessness is alarming,” Piah said.
The minister said men accounted for most of the fatalities: 206 male deaths, compared with 30 female deaths. He attributed the disparity largely to the high number of men operating commercial motorcycles and tricycles.
Piah said reckless driving is not only costing riders their lives but also endangering innocent road users who have little control over drivers’ conduct.
“Sometimes what the recklessness leads to does not just affect you,” he said. “Innocent passersby are sometimes hit and wounded severely, some are killed.”
He also raised concern about what he described as an increase in hit-and-run incidents, particularly during late-night and early-morning hours.
Condemning those who flee crash scenes, Piah called the behavior “unthinkable,” arguing that abandoning victims often worsens injuries and increases the risk of death.
“If you are a human being with five senses, it should be unthinkable… ” You hit another human being, and you just run away,” he said.
Piah said the government, through the Liberia National Police, is stepping up enforcement efforts aimed at reducing road accidents, even as he acknowledged crashes cannot be completely eliminated.
“The police is taking some actions… to reduce the rising wave of accidents and to ensure that those who continue to act recklessly and injuring others are cross-checked and punished,” he said.
He warned that traffic violators will face arrest and prosecution, and urged motorists, commercial tricycle operators and motorcyclists to obey traffic laws and drive responsibly, stressing that reducing road deaths will require both enforcement and public discipline.
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