Malawi has 15,415km of classified roads, out of which approximately 4,405km is of bitumen standard. Road transport remains the major mode of transport in Malawi, handling more than 70 percent of the internal freight traffic and 99 percent of passenger traffic, with an estimate of 75 percent of international cargo traffic also using roads despite the long distances to ports. The condition of the paved road network is considerably better than that of the unpaved road network, although it exhibits signs of general wear and tear and shoulder degradation.

The unpaved road network tends to be characterised by dusty conditions, uneven surfacing and potholes. The poor condition of the road network poses a road safety challenge. This is exacerbated by the increasing and rapid expansion of motorisation which has not been matched by corresponding improvements in regulations and standards of infrastructure nor infrastructure capacity improvements.

Furthermore, there is a lack of provision and maintenance of the facilities, for the high proportion of nonmotorised transport using both urban and rural roads. Road accidents in Malawi for the past five years have been very high, although the rate of accidents has dee! ined by 3 percent as of 2017.

This has been due to improvements in drivers' testing and licensing; inspection of vehicles for fitness; upgrades of the Malawi Traffic Information System (MalTIS); enhanced vehicle load control services; and increased traffic law enforcemen