Australia, Road Tolls, Safety, Transport Industry News

Governments raise alarm to startling 2024 road toll figures

OwnerDriver breaks down the 2024 road toll numbers to show the key factors leading to an alarming national road toll for the past year of more than 1300

Numerous state and territory governments are calling for drivers to be safer on the roads in 2025 following the release of the 2024 road toll figures.

In total, 1302 lives were lost on Australian roads last year, with numerous states recording some of their highest road tolls in recent history in 2024.

New South Wales was the jurisdiction with the highest road toll in 2024, mirroring its 2023 result with 340 deaths on its roads.

Queensland had its worst year on the roads since 2009, with 302 people dying on its roads in 2024. Its 2024 road toll is 25 more than 2023, and 33 more than the five-year average.

While Victoria’s road toll was the third highest in Australia in 2024, its 283 deaths recorded on the roads last year is down from 295 in 2023. Despite this drop, the 2024 road toll for Victoria is still well above its five-year average of 249 deaths recorded.

Western Australia was next with 186 deaths recorded on its roads in 2024, marking its highest road toll since 2016 and an increase of lives lost of 28 from 2023.

South Australia’s road toll dropped from 117 in 2023 to 90 in 2024, while Tasmania’s also decreased by four lives lost to 32 in 2024.

The Northern Territory recorded a road toll of 60 in 2024, while the ACT listed 11 lives lost on its roads as of late December.

The likes of NSW and Queensland say speed and regional roads are becoming key factors to the worrying spike in road deaths in the past year.

Despite introducing seatbelt cameras on July 1, 2024, the NSW government says the road toll remains too high.

In 2024, 136 people died in crashes in NSW where speed is a factor, while 234 people out of its 340 death toll died on regional roads. Fatigue also remains an issue, with 77 fatalities attributed to driver tiredness in 2024, while the likes of alcohol and drugs and motorcycle riders also being listed as factors in the 2024 road toll.

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In 2025, the NSW government is looking to trial average speed cameras for light vehicles while removing a loophole that forces all motorists driving on a foreign licence to convert to a NSW licence within six months.

“Too many lives were lost on NSW roads in 2024. We should never become desensitised to the annual figure or accept that it should be as high as 340 as it has been for the last two years running,” NSW roads minister John Graham says.

“If there is a bright spot in the data in 2024 it is that the sharply higher trend of fatalities recorded in 2023 has not continued and we did not see another increase in the total.

“I want to urge all drivers who qualify, to remain offence-free from January 16 to receive a demerit point removed from their licence. The more people who succeed, the more overall road safety is enhanced.”

NSW regional transport and roads minister Jenny Aitchison says: “More than two thirds of those people died on regional roads, despite only a third of our population living in the regional areas of NSW.”

A similar trend emerged in Queensland, with the state government saying speed has continued to climb year-on-year as a key factor when it comes to fatal crashes, while motorcycle riders and senior drivers are also listed as being disproportionately represented in the road toll.

Deaths on regional roads accounted for more than 60 per cent of fatal crashes in 2024, with the southern region spanning Darling Downs, Ipswich and South-West Queensland having the highest number of fatalities.

The Queensland government is now hoping the announcement of the 80:20 funding arrangement with the federal government for safety upgrades to the Bruce Highway will drive down the road toll in 2025 and beyond.

In Victoria, 149 of its road deaths in 2024 were in rural regions, with the other 134 being in Melbourne. This is a 14 per cent drop compared to 2023, yet the rural road toll death is still below the five year average of 140.

Finally, Western Australia’s alarming 2024 road toll is a major spike from 2023, and is the highest since 2016, when 195 road deaths were recorded. Out of its 186 lives lost on roads in 2024, 107 of these were in regional areas, while only 79 were on metropolitan roads.

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