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The National Center for Transport Safety confirmed it had received notification of a two-vehicle collision on the Taif-Riyadh highway in Makkah Province with preliminary information indicating six fatalities. The incident occurred Thursday morning in the Radwan area of Al-Muwaih Governorate as one vehicle veered off course. Authorities responded promptly to the scene and implemented required procedures while the center activated its safety investigation team in coordination with other agencies to collect data and clarify events.
An Al-Ikhbariya correspondent reporting from Taif stated that the vehicle carrying the teachers suddenly deviated from its lane leading directly to the impact. The driver of the second vehicle survived the crash with no serious injuries reported. All six occupants of the first vehicle which included the five teachers and their driver were killed at the site according to initial assessments.
The group had been traveling from Makkah toward their workplace in Al-Muwayh east of Taif where the teachers were assigned to local schools. Local reporting indicated the female educators made the journey routinely for their positions in the education sector. The tragedy has drawn expressions of sympathy from colleagues and education authorities across the region.
According to the National Center for Transport Safety its investigation team has begun compiling information and evidence to determine contributing factors. The center emphasized that full findings will follow once analysis is complete. This incident occurs against a backdrop of sustained national efforts to improve highway safety standards.
The Ministerial Committee of Traffic Safety documented a 60 percent reduction in road fatalities across the Kingdom between 2016 and 2025 with deaths falling from 8632 to 4438. The committee’s 2025 annual report also recorded a 34 percent decline in injuries to 24290 over the same period. These gains resulted from infrastructure upgrades technological enforcement and faster emergency responses.
Sudden swerving represented 27.9 percent of accidents in the committee’s latest figures emerging as the second-leading cause after insufficient following distance. The factor aligns with the preliminary description of the Taif-Riyadh collision provided by the Al-Ikhbariya correspondent. The committee has urged intensified campaigns to promote safer driving habits as the Kingdom works to lower its traffic fatality rate further.
