Australia is facing a burgeoning crisis of rising road deaths. 1300 people were involved in fatal road crashes in 2024. This alarming trend marks four consecutive years of rising road deaths. According to a recent report published by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), this is a situation not seen since 1966, prior to the introduction of compulsory seatbelts.
Latest data reveals that the National Road Safety Strategy (2021–2030) is failing to meet its goal of halving road deaths by 2030. Instead of declining, road fatalities have surged by 18.5 per cent since the strategy’s launch.
States See Sharp Increases
According to the report, there had been significant increases in road deaths across several states and territories in 2024:
- Queensland: up 9 per cent
- Western Australia: up 17 per cent
- Northern Territory: up 87 per cent
- ACT: up 175 per cent
No Australian state or territory is currently on track to meet its agreed safety targets, and many governments lack the data needed to monitor progress effectively.
Call for Smarter Road Investments
The AAA is calling on the federal government to require state and territory governments to include detailed road safety assessments when applying for road funding. These assessments, such as those provided by the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP), help identify the most dangerous roads and prioritise safety upgrades.
AusRAP rates roads on a five-star scale, with one-star roads being the least safe. Research shows that raising a road’s rating by one star can halve the risk of death or serious injury for motorists.
“It is clear current road safety approaches are inadequate,” AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said .
“We must use data about crashes, road conditions, and traffic enforcement to understand what’s going wrong and implement effective solutions.”
Transparency and Accountability
The AAA urges greater transparency in how road funding decisions are made. It calls for publishing AusRAP safety ratings and embedding this data into the funding process. This approach would ensure investments focus on saving lives rather than political gains.
“Australia’s rising road toll underscores the importance of using road condition data to direct road funding, and to prevent the politicisation of scarce public funds.’” Mr Bradley said.
With over 450,000 kilometres of Australian roads already assessed, the AusRAP system provides a clear roadmap for safer infrastructure. The AAA believes that acting on this data can help Australia address its road safety crisis. It could also contribute to reversing the troubling upward trend in road deaths.
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