Key figures for December 2024
-
113Road deaths in December 20246.8% higher than the average for December over the previous 5 years
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1,300Road deaths in past 12 months3.3% increase from the same time last year
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4.8Deaths per 100,000 people in the past 12 months1.2% increase from the same time last year
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483Vulnerable Road User deaths in the past 12 months9.3% increase from the same time last year
Key statistics
- During the 12 months ending December 2024 there were 1,300 road deaths, an increase of 3.3% compared to the same time last year.
- There were 113 road deaths during December 2024. This is 6 less deaths (5.0%) than the same month last year (119 deaths). The current month is 6.8% higher than the average for December over the previous 5 years.
- The fatality rate for the 12 months to December 2024 stands at 4.8 deaths per 100,000 people, a 1.2% increase compared to the same time last year.
Latest 12 months
By road user
By age group
Change on previous 12 months
Monthly road deaths
last 5 years with trend and error bounds
National fatality rate
In the 12 months ending December 2024, the national road fatality rate was 4.8 deaths per 100,000 people. This rate is 1.2% higher than the same time last year.
State comparison
Total deaths
For the 12 months ending December 2024, the states which experienced the most road deaths were NSW, with 340 (no change on the previous 12 months), followed by Queensland with 302 (9.0% increase). ACT had the lowest number of deaths in the past 12 months, with 11 (175% increase).
Monthly deaths by state/territory
| Current month | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2023 | 32 | 25 | 25 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| December 2024 | 35 | 16 | 23 | 11 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Latest per cent change | 9.4% | -36.0% | -8.0% | -15.4% | 33.3% | 0.0% | -33.3% | 0.0% |
Annual deaths - past 12 months
| 12 months end December | Australia |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,097 |
| 2021 | 1,130 |
| 2022 | 1,178 |
| 2023 | 1,258 |
| 2024 | 1,300 |
| Latest per cent change | 3.3% |
| Average trend change per year | 4.6% |
State fatality rate
Fatality rates more accurately describe the risk of death within jurisdictions by adjusting for population. The Northern Territory consistently had the highest fatality rate over the past 5 years, reaching 22.7 deaths per 100,000 people for the 12 months ending December 2024 (85.6% increase from the previous year). Western Australia had the second highest at 6.2 deaths per 100,000 people (13.9% increase from the previous year), although still 3.6 times lower than that of the Northern Territory. The fatality rates of Tasmania and Queensland were 5.6 and 5.4 deaths per 100,000 (8.8% decrease and 6.6% increase from the previous year respectively). ACT continued to report the lowest fatality rate, at 2.3 deaths per 100,000 population (170.5% increase from the previous year).
State fatality rate - past 12 months
| 12 months end December | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 12.5 | 1.6 |
| 2021 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 14.1 | 2.4 |
| 2022 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 3.9 | 6.3 | 8.9 | 18.8 | 3.9 |
| 2023 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 6.3 | 5.5 | 6.1 | 12.2 | 0.9 |
| 2024 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 22.7 | 2.3 |
| Latest per cent change | -1.7% | -7.3% | 6.6% | -23.3% | 13.9% | -8.8% | 85.6% | 170.5% |
| Average trend change per year | 4.6% | 7.0% | -0.4% | 0.0% | 0.8% | -4.4% | 11.1% | -2.6% |
Deaths by demographics and circumstances
Road users
Road deaths are grouped by vehicle type and position to describe deaths by road user type. By this measure, deaths were most frequently drivers, with 596 in the 12-month period ending December 2024 (1% lower than the previous 12 months). Motorcyclists were the next most highly represented, with 278 deaths in the period (10.3% increase). 200 passenger road deaths occurred in the period.
Road user
| 12 months end December | Driver | Passenger | Pedestrian | Motorcyclista | Pedal cyclista | Totalb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 534 | 192 | 138 | 187 | 42 | 1,097 |
| 2021 | 530 | 182 | 133 | 237 | 42 | 1,130 |
| 2022 | 541 | 187 | 161 | 244 | 35 | 1,178 |
| 2023 | 602 | 204 | 156 | 252 | 34 | 1,258 |
| 2024 | 596 | 200 | 167 | 278 | 38 | 1,300 |
| Latest per cent change | -1.0% | -2.0% | 7.1% | 10.3% | 11.8% | 3.3% |
| Average trend change per year | 3.5% | 2.0% | 5.6% | 8.9% | -4.0% | 4.6% |
a Includes pillion passengers.
b Includes unknown or not specified.
Age group
In the 12-month period ending December 2024, 30.8% of road deaths were aged 40-64 years (400 deaths). This was followed by 21% of deaths for those aged 26-39 years (273 deaths).
Comparing the change in deaths by age group for the most recent 12 months compared to previous:
- The cohort with the greatest decrease in deaths was people aged 26-39 years, with 7 fewer deaths (decrease of 2.5%, from 280 to 273 deaths).
- The cohort with the greatest increase in deaths was aged 40-64 years, with 19 more deaths (increase of 5% from 381 to 400 deaths).
Age group (years)
| 12 months end December | 0 to 7 | 8 to 16 | 17 to 25 | 26 to 39 | 40 to 64 | 65 to 74 | ≥ 75 | Allb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 17 | 38 | 208 | 291 | 331 | 75 | 133 | 1,097 |
| 2021 | 22 | 43 | 212 | 243 | 352 | 113 | 140 | 1,130 |
| 2022 | 15 | 48 | 227 | 265 | 366 | 116 | 140 | 1,178 |
| 2023 | 14 | 48 | 242 | 280 | 381 | 138 | 153 | 1,258 |
| 2024 | 19 | 43 | 240 | 273 | 400 | 144 | 163 | 1,300 |
| Latest per cent change | 35.7% | -10.4% | -0.8% | -2.5% | 5.0% | 4.3% | 6.5% | 3.3% |
| Average trend change per year | -2.3% | 3.6% | 4.3% | 0.1% | 4.7% | 16.2% | 5.1% | 4.6% |
b Includes unknown or not specified.
Gender
In the past year, around 2.9 times more males than females were involved in fatal crashes. In the 12 months to December 2024, 967 males died in crashes, compared with 328 females. This imbalance has decreased recently, as the road death count for males rose to 967 deaths in the past 12 months, from 954 in the previous (1.4% increase), compared to female road deaths which increased from 304 to 328 deaths (7.9% increase).
Remoteness area
The majority of road deaths in the last 12 months (966 deaths, 74.3%) occurred in major city and regional areas. Remote and very remote regions made up the smallest proportion of road deaths at 3.9%, reporting a total of 51 deaths.
In recent years, remoteness area has not been routinely provided, resulting in a significant increase in Unknown remoteness area. We suggest caution interpreting findings from this chart, as total deaths in all other regions may be underreported.
Fatal crashes
Road crashes are a leading cause of death and hospitalised injuries in Australia. It’s important to understand their underlying factors, especially crashes that result in at least one fatality.
Single and multiple vehicle crashes
Most fatal crashes involve a single vehicle, totalling 717 crashes in the 12 months ending December 2024, 60.2% of all fatal crashes. There were 474 fatal crashes involving multiple vehicles (0.4% increase from previous year).
There have been 40 more fatal single-vehicle crashes (5.9% increase) since the 12 months ending December 2023.
Speed limit
Of all the fatal road crashes in the past 12 months, 28.5% (340) happened in 100 km/h zones (0.9% increase from the previous year). This was followed by 282 fatal crashes in 60-70 km zones (1.1% lower than the previous year). Fatal crashes in 80-90 km/h zones had the greatest increase, with 6 more deaths (increase of 3.1% from 195 to 201 deaths).
Speed limit (km/h)
| 12 months end December | ≤ 40 | 50 | 60 to 70 | 80 to 90 | 100 | ≥ 110 | Allb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 17 | 125 | 224 | 178 | 330 | 118 | 998 |
| 2021 | 18 | 132 | 251 | 159 | 333 | 142 | 1,049 |
| 2022 | 21 | 117 | 301 | 182 | 337 | 135 | 1,103 |
| 2023 | 34 | 149 | 285 | 195 | 337 | 137 | 1,149 |
| 2024 | 28 | 123 | 282 | 201 | 340 | 124 | 1,191 |
| Latest per cent change | -17.6% | -17.4% | -1.1% | 3.1% | 0.9% | -9.5% | 3.7% |
| Average trend change per year | 17.8% | 0.9% | 6.1% | 4.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 4.5% |
b Includes unknown or not specified.
Explore the data
Explore the monthly deaths data in dashboard format. The dashboard allows further drilling down by categories such as age group, jurisdiction and road user.
Definitions
Road death
A person who dies within 30 days as a result of injuries received in an unintended crash on a public road.
Fatal injuries are coded using the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) system. For more details, see ICD-10 Version 2010(Opens in a new tab/window)
Fatality rate
The fatality rate allows for easier like-for-like comparison between states and territories and other sub-groups as it is not affected by differences in the sizes of the populations. In particular, it refers to the count of road deaths in the last 12 months divided by the resident population at the midpoint of that period, multiplied by 100,000. Population estimates are sourced from ABS' national, state and territory population statistics. The midpoint population may be interpolated if necessary.
Fatal crash
A crash reported to police resulting from the movement of at least one road vehicle on a public road and involving at least one death that is not the result of a pre-meditated act.
Vulnerable Road User
Road users not in a car, bus or truck, generally including pedestrians, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists. Can also include children 7 years and under, the elderly and users of mobility devices.
About the data
We collect the data from each state and territory and collate them in the Australian Road Deaths Database.
The raw data are obtained from:
- Transport for NSW(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Department of Transport and Planning, Victoria(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Department for Infrastructure and Transport, SA(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Western Australia Police Force(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Department of State Growth, Tasmania(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, NT(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Transport Canberra and City Services, ACT(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics(Opens in a new tab/window)
Download data
- Road deaths Australia tables(Opens in a new tab/window)
- Australian Road Deaths Database(Opens in a new tab/window)
Limitations
Road deaths from recent months are preliminary and are subject to revision.
Explore related data and insights
Have a question or feedback?
Contact the Road Safety Data Hub team