A new analysis suggests artificial intelligence systems could significantly reduce Sri Lanka's annual road accident toll, which currently costs the economy approximately USD 2.5 billion yearly. The report proposes a national AI-powered platform combining data from multiple sources to predict crashes, manage traffic,…
Sri Lanka's road safety crisis carries a substantial economic burden alongside its human cost. The country records approximately 3,200 road deaths and tens of thousands of serious injuries annually, translating to economic losses of around USD 2.5 billion in 2024, equivalent to 3.2% of GDP, according to an analysis by Prof. Nalinda Somasiri of York St John University. Productivity losses represent the largest component of these costs at roughly USD 850 million per year, with healthcare and rehabilitation expenses adding approximately USD 420 million more, alongside vehicle damage, congestion, and administrative costs.
The report proposes establishing a comprehensive AI-powered road safety platform that would integrate data from traffic monitoring systems, hospitals, weather services, vehicle movement tracking, and police enforcement records. This unified system could enable multiple functions including predictive crash analysis to identify high-risk locations, optimised traffic management to reduce congestion-related accidents, computer vision-based traffic law enforcement, faster emergency response routing, targeted multilingual safety awareness campaigns, and risk-based insurance analytics to encourage safer driving habits.
Implementation costs are estimated between USD 85 million and USD 120 million over five years. The report presents three scenarios for deployment: a conservative approach recovering approximately USD 370 million annually by 2035, a moderate nationwide rollout by 2028 generating USD 660 million yearly, and an accelerated scenario delivering USD 940 million in annual benefits. These projections suggest economic returns could substantially exceed initial investments if accompanied by appropriate regulatory reforms.
Experts emphasise that technology alone cannot address Sri Lanka's road safety challenges. Sustainable improvements will require stronger law enforcement, safer infrastructure, enhanced driver education, and better institutional coordination alongside AI implementation. The report recommends establishing a national data platform, developing AI governance standards, and monitoring progress against international road safety targets.
