Australian roads are becoming deadlier, with an almost 6% jump in road deaths in the past year as fatalities remain significantly higher than before the Covid pandemic and worse than long-term safety targets.
The latest road fatality figures, which cover the 12 months to 31 March, reveal 1,204 deaths on Australian roads – an annual increase of 5.9%.
Of the total deaths, 557 were drivers, up 2.2% from 545 the previous year, while 189 were passengers, up 3.8% from 182 the previous year.
Pedestrian deaths increased by 22.6%, rising to 163 last year, while motorcyclist deaths climbed 7% to 246.
The Northern Territory recorded a 14% reduction in road deaths, from 43 in the previous reporting year down to 37 in 2022-23 – however it still has by far the highest per capita rate of road deaths at 14.76 a year per 100,000 population, compared with the national average of 4.61.
New South Wales’ death toll of 289 was identical to the previous year and it is the only state that is on track to meet national road safety targets.
Every other state recorded an increase in road deaths. In Western Australia, deaths increased from 154 in the previous year to 180 in 2022-23 – a 16.9% increase – and in the Australian Capital Territory, a jump from 10 to 17 represented a 70% spike.
Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania recorded increased road deaths of 9.7%, 9.4% and 9.1% respectively.
The spike in puts the country further away from meeting targets in the National Road Safety Strategy, which in 2021 set out an ambition of reducing road deaths by 50% by 2030. The target also includes no deaths of children seven years or under by 2030.
The national road toll is now 19% above levels needed for Australia to be on track to meet its 2030 target, according to analysis provided by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) – the nation’s peak motoring body that represents state based groups such as the NRMA, RACV and RACQ.
Rates of young children dying on Australian roads remains stubbornly high. In the 12 months to March 2023, 18 children aged seven or under died in road-related incidents, the same figure as the previous year, which is 12.5% higher than when the 2030 target was set out.
Reasons behind growing road fatalities are unclear. Transport experts have previously pointed the finger at the enormous surge in popularity of SUVs and dual cab utes in recent years and the tax perks that encourage their uptake as one factor. Studies have found that children are eight times more likely to be struck by an SUV compared with a standard car.
In Victoria, a parliamentary committee is investigating how the Covid pandemic may have affected road safety, as the state recorded a disproportionate surge in pedestrian and rural fatalities last year.
However the Australian Automobile Association said poor data collection from all state and territory governments is limiting authorities’ ability to formulate an evidence-based response to the increase in deaths.
“This report raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to road trauma reduction,” said AAA managing director, Michael Bradley, who also said there is no national data on crash causes, serious injuries, road quality or details of whether a fatal accident occurred in a city CBD or a national highway.
“You can’t improve what you don’t measure, and when it comes to Australian road trauma, the commonwealth government measures very little. The families of victims deserve to know governments are learning from each crash and taking steps to prevent others suffering the same fate.”
He said until governments report against the targets they set, Australian road spending will continue to be a political football.
“Road deaths have increased over the past five years, and a lack of road trauma data reporting makes it difficult to understand the reasons for this trend and to identify the measures needed to prevent them.”
Last week’s budget allocated some money to enhancing data collection.
Road deaths in Australia peaked in 1970 at 30.4 deaths a year per 100,000 population and dropped to historic lows before the pandemic before rising again in the past five years.
In the most recent OECD comparisons of road fatalities, Australia ranked 23rd of 36 OECD countries, with the US ranking last.
