Australia’s road death toll surges
More Australians died in road crashes in the last financial year than in any period since 2012, despite being in much newer and safer vehicles.
A total of 1310 people lost their lives in the 12 months to 30 June 2024 – an increase of 11.7 per cent compared with the same period in the year prior. It marks the worst 12 months for road deaths since 2012, when an identical 1310 lives were lost in the year to 30 November.
A disturbing new report, The Human Impact of Fatal Road Trauma, has been published by th Road Trauma Support Group NSW. It paints a bleak picture of the deteriorating situation.
The period from 2020 to 2023 represents the first time since before 1970 that road fatalities have increased consecutively for three years.
Every year, more than 300 people die and more than 10,000 are injured on NSW roads. In 2023, 346 people died – a substantial increase of 23% more deaths compared to the year prior. Projections for 2024 are heading in the same direction. Decades of significant progress towards reducing the number of deaths on NSW roads is coming undone, with the current trajectory diverging entirely from the progress required to achieve NSW’s Towards Zero Road Safety Plan goals for the year 2030 (no more than 164 road deaths) and the year 2050 (zero road deaths).
