A court in Uzbekistan's Surkhandarya region has delivered a verdict in the case of a fatal traffic accident caused by a university student driving without proper documentation. On November 23, 2025, around 3:40 PM, a fourth-year student drove a Chevrolet Cobalt vehicle toward Tashkent without possessing any driving license or registration papers.

Reports indicate that to avoid traveling alone on the long journey, she took along a fellow student from the same university as a passenger. While driving on the Sherabad-Tashkent route, the driver increased speed and lost control of the vehicle. Consequently, the car veered off the road and plunged into the Sherabad River.

As a result of the accident, the passenger, also a student, sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. The Sherabad District Court, handling the criminal case, found the driver guilty of committing an offense under Part 2 of Article 266 of the Criminal Code (violation of traffic safety rules resulting in a person's death due to negligence).

According to the court's ruling, the convicted individual is deprived of the right to drive all types of vehicles for 3 years and sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment. This incident underscores the persistent challenges regarding road safety in the country.

For context, in 2025, Uzbekistan recorded 9,226 traffic accidents resulting in 2,188 fatalities and 8,901 injuries, representing a decrease of less than 1% over the year. Data from the Public Security Department shows that the number of fatalities per 100,000 population decreased from 6.9 in 2021 to 5.7 in 2025, marking a 17% reduction.

In the first 3 months of 2026, the country witnessed 1,102 traffic accidents, leading to 346 deaths. Analysis reveals that 32.9% of these incidents occurred due to failure to adhere to speed limits, 22.4% due to non-compliance with traffic light signals, and 13.6% due to drivers not yielding to pedestrians.

Source: www.gazeta.uz