Australia's peak motoring body says new figures revealing an 11.7 per cent annual increase in road deaths send an unambiguous message that state governments must agree to Federal demands to share critical data about the causes of road trauma.
The latest edition of the AAA's Benchmarking the Performance of the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 shows 1,310 people died on Australian roads in the year to 30 June - up from 1,173 a year earlier.
This is the deadliest 12-month period on Australian roads since 30 November 2012, which also had 1,310 fatalities.
The latest figures reveal significant increases in NSW (deaths up 23%) Victoria (9%), Queensland (8.4%), South Australia (8.6%), and the Northern Territory (107.7%). There was a smaller increase in Western Australia (0.6%). Only Tasmania and the ACT had declines in road deaths.
The June 2024 quarter's 311 national road toll was 9.9 percent higher than the previous corresponding period's 283 fatalities.
AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said these figures show Australia's current approach to road trauma management is failing.
"We need a data-driven response to a problem killing more than 100 people every month," he said.
"States and territories must report data they hold about the causes of crashes, the quality of roads, and the effectiveness of policing, so it can be used to produce more effective road safety interventions.
"To its credit, the Federal Government has agreed to insert data transparency clauses into the next five-year intergovernmental road funding agreement. This agreement was due to begin this month but has not yet been finalised, and the delay is impeding the introduction of more effective road safety measures.
"Data sharing will reveal which state's road safety measures are the most effective, and the safety interventions that are most needed. That will not only save lives, but also end the politicisation of road funding by revealing whether governments are investing in the roads that most need safety upgrades, rather than investing in road projects in marginal electorates to win votes.
"The Queensland Government has publicly agreed to provide road safety data, but other states have been silent on this important reform proposal."
The AAA launched its Data Saves Lives road safety data transparency campaign in October 2023. The campaign is supported by the nation's motoring clubs, and 18 national organisations representing motorists, motorcyclists, truckers, pedestrians, doctors, insurers, road engineers and safety advocates.
The AAA's Benchmarking Report is available at www.aaa.asn.au/knowledge-centre
