Egypt's lorry drivers fear scapegoating after road accident that killed 19

The National

02-07-2025

Lorry drivers across Egypt are bracing themselves for a wave of new regulations and surprise drug tests following the deaths of 18 teenage girls in an accident last week that put the spotlight on the high rate of road accidents in the country.
While officials often point to narcotics use among drivers as a major factor, the drivers argue that they are being unfairly blamed for a crisis caused by poor road conditions, economic pressures and systemic neglect.
'We're the ones who get the backlash every time something happens,' said Islam Awad, 39, a lorry driver who has been navigating Egypt's highways for more than a decade. 'But accidents will continue until the roads are fixed, no matter how many drug tests they run.'
The accident, which occurred near Ashmoun in Menoufia province on Friday, has sparked a national conversation about road safety and accountability. A lorry coming from the opposite direction crossed the central divider and slammed into a microbus carrying 21 female workers home from grape farms, a daily commute for the group. Eighteen of the passengers and the driver were killed.
The lorry driver, who turned himself in to authorities out of fear of reprisals from the victims' families, said he lost control of his vehicle while attempting to avoid a rock in the middle of the road. The driver explained during questioning that the rock was impossible to see in time due to the narrow lanes and poor road conditions.
'I wasn't speeding, and I wasn't reckless,' he told investigators. 'I was only driving 50kph, but the steering slipped out of my control. I didn't mean for this to happen. My heart aches for the victims – I have daughters their age.'
Officials said tests showed he was under the influence of illegal drugs. The tragedy took place on the Regional Ring Road, a 365km motorway connecting Cairo to five provinces – Giza, Fayoum, Menoufia, Sharqia, and Qalyubia.
A 110km stretch of the road has been under repair since 2020, with one lane closed entirely, forcing two-way traffic into a single, poorly divided lane shared by lorries, buses, cars and microbuses. This is where the accident happened.
The Ministry of Transport has defended the repairs, saying that the asphalt road is being replaced with concrete to better withstand heavy traffic and Egypt's high temperatures. However, the project has faced criticism for its slow pace and dangerous detours. Drivers like Mr Awad, who navigate the road daily, describe it as a 'death trap'.
If you hit a broken part of the road or even something as small as a rock, you need several metres to recover, which you don't have. That's why this road is so deadly
Islam Awad,
lorry driver
'Lorry drivers are forced to drive these narrow lanes, and there is very little room to manoeuvre,' he said. 'Lorries are huge, and you're often carrying loads of up to 10 tonnes. If you hit a broken part of the road or even something as small as a rock, you need several metres to recover, which you don't have. That's why this road is so deadly.'
The accident has reignited public anger over the quality of roads in Egypt after the government under President Abdel Fattah El Sisi spent billions of dollars on the national network. Social media users flooded platforms with demands for accountability, questioning why the ring road, completed in 2018 after a decade of construction, required such intense repairs just two years later.
This anger is particularly palpable in Menoufia, where several residents told The National that their warnings about the road's dangers had been ignored for years. They said they had filed repeated complaints to the government about the number of accidents taking place on the road as a result of the repairs, to no avail.
'The only reason the government is causing such an uproar about the accident is because it is particularly tragic. Eighteen young girls and all from the same town, that is terrible. But many accidents, such as one that took place just last night near Mansoura, go ignored by the government,' said a Menoufia resident who asked to remain anonymous.
Families of the victims refused to allow the governor of Menoufia to attend the joint funeral for the 18 girls held in the city of Menouf. Videos of the families turning their backs to the governor and shouting at him to leave were widely circulated.
The Minister of Transport, Kamel El Wazir, visited the accident site on Sunday and promised that the ring road would be fully repaired in a project costing 50 billion Egyptian pounds ($1 billion). However, Mr El Wazir did not address the question of why such extensive repairs were needed so soon after the road's completion, a question that has fuelled public frustration and scepticism.
Lorry drivers say they are being targeted unfairly by the government's decision to introduce random drug tests, among of measures to improve road safety. Both drivers interviewed for this article agreed that narcotics use is common among drivers, but they insisted that it is often a necessity rather than a choice.
'Everyone driving on roads all over the country is high – lorry drivers and sons of pashas alike,' said Abdo Ibrahim, 48. 'But the focus of this accident shouldn't be drugs. The focus should be the Regional Ring Road and how unsafe it is. Accidents happen all over the country, but I have never seen a road this deadly in my life.'
Mr Ibrahim said the physical demands of driving long distances with little rest often push drivers to rely on narcotics like tramadol to stay awake and cope with the pain. 'It's not just about getting high,' he said. 'It's about surviving the trip.'
Drug testing and another new measure, background checks of lorry drivers, will disproportionately harm them without addressing the root causes of road accidents, they say.
'Life has gotten so expensive lately, and for many of us, this is the only job we can do,' Mr Ibrahim said. 'Now they're going to make it even harder for us to survive.'
Lorry drivers are typically on the top rung of their career ladder, having obtained first-degree licences after years of experience. The process requires six years of professional driving, with drivers working their way up from smaller vehicles.
'The job isn't easy, and most of us are experienced,' Mr Awad explained. 'But no one listens to drivers when we say the roads are unsafe. This accident happened because of the road repairs, not the driver. The whole stretch from Cairo to Menoufia is under repair – it's irrational.' He said it might have been more efficient to repair the road stretch by stretch to minimise the parts of it that are unsafe.
The Regional Ring Road has earned its grim nickname – 'The Road of Death' – for good reason. According to state statistics, there have been 304 recorded accidents on the Regional Ring Road since mid-2022, resulting in 239 deaths.
The number of accidents has been increasing steadily, with 114 reported in 2024, compared to 76 accidents in 2023. There have already been 67 accidents this year.