Every year, 1.3 million people die in traffic accidents in the world, that is, one person every 24 seconds. At the same time, an average of 10 people die every day on the roads of Ukraine as a result of road accidents. The war turned the lives of Ukrainians upside down, brought death, maiming, unprecedented stress, fear and uncertainty. However, against the backdrop of missile strikes and hostilities, we are faced with another, less obvious, but no less tragic problem – people dying on the roads. It would seem that war should teach us to value life, every moment and every person. But instead, we watch the country’s roads turn into battlefields where drunk drivers become the main culprits of tragedies.
Drunk driving during wartime: current statistics and dire consequences
Despite the war and the loss of life, drunk drivers continue to be one of the serious safety problems on our roads. Statistics impressive: in 2024, the number of accidents committed while under the influence of alcohol or drugs increased by 19% compared to 2021. And these are not just numbers, but stories about broken destinies, a lost chance at life, and destruction that could have been prevented.
Last year, the National Police of Ukraine filed 65,702 reports against drivers who got behind the wheel while intoxicated. That’s only 2% more than in 2023, but that growth shows a consistently high problem that isn’t abating. The leading regions are particularly alarming in this situation. According to the results of the number of traffic violation protocols in 2024, the regions of Ukraine show significant differences. The leader of the anti-rating was the Dnipropetrovsk region, where 8,745 protocols were recorded. Odesa region took second place with 7,073 cases, and Kharkiv region came third with 6,850 protocols. These regions show the highest concentration of violations, which indicates a particularly tense situation on the roads.
Next on the list were Zaporizhzhia (6,400 protocols) and Donetsk region (6,200), which also confirms the high level of violations in the eastern regions of the country. At the same time, Kyiv region with 5,890 protocols and Lviv region with 5,600 demonstrate that road safety problems are not limited to the eastern and southern regions. Among the central regions, Poltava region leads with 5,450 protocols, followed by Vinnytsia (5,100) and Rivne (4,900). Chernihivska (4,850) and Mykolayivska (4,700) also entered the top regions with a high level of violations.
At the same time, the following regions show much lower indicators: 1,340 protocols were drawn up in Zhytomyr Oblast, and 1,280 in Zakarpattia Oblast. Chernivtsi Oblast was distinguished by 1,200 protocols, and Kirovohrad Oblast — 1,150. But the lowest indicators were recorded in Sumy Oblast (1,100), Volyn Oblast ( 1 050), Khmelnytskyi (980) and Kherson (950) regions. In Western Ukraine, the fewest violations were recorded in Ivano-Frankivsk region (880) and Ternopil region (816). At the same time, the Cherkasy region ranks first in terms of the smallest number of completed protocols – only 720.
In addition to administrative violations, the problem of alcohol while driving is also actively translated into the field of criminal cases. We will remind that in Ukraine for several years there has been a fixed permissible rate of alcohol in the blood, which is 0.20 ppm. For men, this level corresponds to approximately 200 g of wine, and for women – 100 g. Last year, the General Prosecutor’s Office opened 1,054 criminal proceedings for drunken driving, which is 11% more than in 2023. In addition, the level of alcohol in the blood of offenders exceeded the permissible norms many times. However, in 2024, out of over a thousand criminal proceedings, only 57% reached the court, which demonstrates a certain inefficiency of the law enforcement system.
The serious consequences of drunk driving can be seen in accidents with victims. In 2024, there were more than 1,000 such road accidents, in which 110 people died and 1,302 people were injured. Therefore, statistics show that every 25th accident with victims is related to driving while intoxicated, which is a tragic reminder of how human recklessness and indifference to other people’s lives can have fatal consequences. However, not all drivers are confused by this. So, for example, in Kharkiv near the front, the roads have long since turned into a zone of increased risk, where patrolmen are forced to work in an intensified mode. In just one weekend from January 25 to 26, 2025, law enforcement officers recorded 27 drivers who got behind the wheel while intoxicated. That’s almost one drunk driver every hour. Imagine: 27 potential tragedies that miraculously did not turn into actual accidents.
In addition, patrol officers recorded 476 violations of traffic rules. Of these, 462 cases related to non-observance of basic rules, such as speeding or making an incorrect maneuver. Such a number of violations shows that the discipline on the roads is getting weaker and weaker. And that’s not all. During the same weekend, 7 people were detained who probably had narcotic substances with them. This adds to the overall picture of chaos and danger that is becoming a familiar reality for Kharkiv.
Almost 500 calls processed by patrol officers in two days demonstrate how high the level of tension is in the city. And although the work of the police allows many tragedies to be avoided, every driver who gets behind the wheel while intoxicated risks becoming the cause of an accident.
Road crisis in Ukraine: the total number of road accidents and their consequences
Since the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian roads have continued to be a place of tragedy for thousands of people, as in previous years. In total, 25,781 road accidents with victims were recorded, which took the lives of 3,202 people and left 32,023 people with injuries of varying degrees of severity. This was announced by the first deputy chief of the Patrol Police Department, Oleksiy Biloshitskyi. According to him, the main cause of these accidents was speeding — it caused 39.4% of all road accidents with serious consequences. This factor remains a key problem that kills and maims people year after year. Other causes of accidents include violations of traffic rules (traffic rules), maneuvering rules, and crossing intersections. Moreover, the statistics of the types of road accidents are impressive: the most victims were due to collisions (41.7%), collisions with pedestrians (26.7%) and collisions with obstacles (12.2%).
It should be noted that the absolute majority of road accidents with victims, namely 80%, occur in populated areas. In cities and villages, the number of such accidents increased by 13%, while the situation remained almost unchanged on state highways. This indicates an increase in danger on local roads, where pedestrians and drivers face increased risk. It is important to note that Kyiv continues to lead in terms of the number of road accidents with victims, with 1,393 accidents. In second place is Dnipropetrovsk Region (1,350 road accidents), followed by Odesa Region (1,148 road accidents). The situation is particularly alarming in the Odesa region, where the number of road accidents increased by 40% compared to last year, and the number of people killed in these accidents increased by a record 70%. Along with this, among the main transport arteries of the country, the M-06 Kyiv-Chop route remains the most dangerous: in eight months, 292 road accidents with casualties occurred here. In second place is the M-30 highway Stryi — Uman — Dnipro — Izvarine, where 291 accidents were registered. The third place is occupied by the M-03 route Kyiv — Kharkiv — Dovzhansky with 156 road accidents. These roads, which connect key cities of Ukraine, become a trap for drivers due to high traffic, insufficient enforcement and the general state of the infrastructure.
At the same time, a significant part of the victims are pedestrians. Only in 2024, there were 6,877 road accidents with their participation, in which 983 people died and 6,357 were injured. At the same time, children are also not left out of road tragedies. Last year, there were 4,563 road accidents in which children were killed or injured. As a result of these accidents, 180 children lost their lives, and 5,225 were injured.
Oleksiy Biloshitsky reported that in order to reduce the number of accidents, the work of 300 complexes of automatic recording of traffic violations was restored. In 2024, they recorded more than 4.36 million violations, and more than 644,000 decisions were made manually by the police. However, Ukrainian roads continue to be a zone of increased danger, where people’s lives depend not only on the infrastructure or laws, but also on the responsibility of each traffic participant. Such dynamics indicate a serious road safety crisis in the region, which requires immediate solutions.
However, there are reasons to believe that official statistics do not fully reflect reality, and real losses from road accidents may be 30-50% higher. This is due to the fact that it is no secret to many how drunk drivers, especially those with influence or financial opportunities, including “majors” and officials, “settle the issue” with the police in the field. Such “arrangements” often help to avoid accountability and disappear from official reports, creating a false picture of the scale of the problem.
Road disaster in Ukraine: socio-economic losses and causes
Due to road accidents, Ukraine annually loses tens of thousands of able-bodied citizens, and the economy – billions of dollars. According to the World Bank, socio-economic losses from road accidents were previously estimated at 4.5 billion hryvnias per year, which is about 2% of the country’s GDP. At the moment, there is no actual information about it, but it is probably not much different from the previous one. In any case, this is a catastrophic figure that emphasizes the scale of the problem: every road accident is not only a human life or health, but also a blow to the economy, the health care system and the reputation of the state.
It is especially scary that road accidents are the main cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24. Treating victims places a huge financial burden on the health and social protection system and robs the country of its future. This is not only a loss of potential, but also a direct undermining of demographic stability.
The main causes of road accidents and drunk driving in Ukraine are weak police control on the roads and deep-rooted corruption. A flawed judicial system that allows bribery or connections to avoid punishment only exacerbates the problem. As a result, impunity becomes the norm, and roads become a field of constant tragedies. At the same time, bad roads have long become a symbol of Ukraine, but even those roads that have been repaired do not guarantee safety. Drivers ignore the rules, exceed the speed limit and disregard elementary traffic rules. However, the situation is complicated by another factor — the critical level of technical control of vehicles.
In Ukraine, mandatory technical control is carried out by enterprises accredited by the Ministry of Infrastructure in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Infrastructure No. 106 and the Law of Ukraine “On Road Traffic”. It is mandatory for vehicles operated on main roads, regardless of the form of ownership. However, the real work of these centers turned into an illusion. It takes at least 20-30 minutes to properly inspect one car, and one inspection station can physically service about 480 cars per month. But there are centers that issue up to 2,600 protocols per month. It is obvious that under such conditions a real review does not take place, and technical certificates turn into a formality.
The situation with vehicle certification is even worse. Previously, 57 enterprises authorized by the Ministry of Infrastructure worked in Ukraine, and now there are only 10 of them. At the same time, the number of issued certificates is constantly increasing, which is physically impossible with a qualitative survey. In some cases, documents are issued only on the basis of submitted photos of the car. Such systemic violations not only endanger the lives of citizens, but also destroy Ukraine’s international reputation. European partners are already openly expressing concerns about how Ukraine organizes technical inspection and certification. This calls into question our ability to provide basic road safety.
So, Ukrainian roads have long become a zone of increased danger, and the statistics of deaths only confirm the scale of this problem. However, traffic accidents in Ukraine are not only a separate problem of infrastructure or law enforcement. This is a deep systemic crisis that requires comprehensive and immediate changes: from reforming technical inspection to implementing stricter control over offenses and eradicating corruption. Without it, roads will remain not only a place of traffic, but also a place where Ukraine will continue to lose its people, resources and future every day.
And, of course, the main danger on the roads remains the people themselves. Here the state is already powerless – it is not the law that is to blame, but those who knowingly get behind the wheel while intoxicated. It is not an accident, but their personal choice that turns the road into a high-risk area for everyone around and causes deaths. The war brought a lot of grief, brought its own chaos, but still did not teach how to protect human lives. And this is too high a cost for a country that is already suffering colossal losses.
Oksana Ishchenko
