Key figures for March 2026
-
225Road deaths involving heavy vehicles in the past 12 months22.3% higher than the previous year
-
96Road deaths involving heavy rigid trucks in the past 12 months24.7% higher than the previous year
-
118Road deaths involving articulated trucks in the past 12 months26.9% higher than the previous year
Quarterly and annual heavy vehicle involved road deaths over last five years
Quarterly road deaths involving heavy vehicles over the last 5 years
| Year | March quarter | June quarter | September quarter | December quarter | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | 42 | 46 | 53 | 185 |
| 2022 | 47 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 182 |
| 2023 | 53 | 56 | 65 | 46 | 220 |
| 2024 | 48 | 43 | 46 | 60 | 197 |
| 2025 | 35 | 63 | 52 | 60 | 210 |
| 2026 | 50 | – | – | – | 50 |
Annual trends
By type of vehicle involved
| 12 months ending March | Heavy vehicle involved | No heavy vehicle involved | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 188 | 948 | 1,136 |
| 2023 | 188 | 985 | 1,187 |
| 2024 | 215 | 1,047 | 1,262 |
| 2025 | 184 | 1,101 | 1,285 |
| 2026 | 225 | 1,081 | 1,326 |
| Latest per cent change | 22.3% | -1.8% | 3.2% |
Totals may include unknown values
By type of vehicle involved
| 12 months ending March | Heavy vehicle involved | No heavy vehicle involved | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 172 | 884 | 1,056 |
| 2023 | 168 | 923 | 1,105 |
| 2024 | 183 | 972 | 1,155 |
| 2025 | 166 | 1,015 | 1,181 |
| 2026 | 201 | 1,008 | 1,229 |
| Latest per cent change | 21.1% | -0.7% | 4.1% |
Totals may include unknown values
Deaths by jurisdiction
Latest four quarters
Heavy rigid trucks
Quarterly and annual heavy rigid truck involved road deaths over last five years
Heavy rigid truck involved deaths by jurisdiction
| 12 months ending March | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 31 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 81 |
| 2023 | 16 | 22 | 26 | 1 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 94 |
| 2024 | 27 | 16 | 19 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 90 |
| 2025 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 5 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 77 |
| 2026 | 27 | 20 | 20 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 96 |
| Latest per cent change | 170.0% | 5.3% | 5.3% | -60.0% | 11.8% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | 24.7% |
Articulated trucks
Quarterly and annual articulated truck involved road deaths over last five years
Articulated truck involved deaths by jurisdiction
| 12 months ending March | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 28 | 15 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 98 |
| 2023 | 24 | 21 | 28 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 91 |
| 2024 | 33 | 31 | 23 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 104 |
| 2025 | 26 | 13 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 93 |
| 2026 | 43 | 28 | 24 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 118 |
| Latest per cent change | 65.4% | 115.4% | -25.0% | 0.0% | 60.0% | 33.3% | -100.0% | 0.0% | 26.9% |
Buses
Quarterly and annual bus involved road deaths over last five years
Bus involved deaths by jurisdiction
| 12 months ending March | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 2023 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| 2024 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 |
| 2025 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 |
| 2026 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Latest per cent change | 0.0% | – | -57.1% | -100.0% | -50.0% | 0.0% | -100.0% | 0.0% | -16.0% |
Definitions
Articulated truck
A motor vehicle primarily for load carrying, consisting of a prime mover that has no significant load carrying area but with a turntable device which can be linked to one or more trailers.
Heavy rigid truck
A motor vehicle of GVM greater than 4.5 tonnes constructed with a load carrying area. Includes a rigid truck with a tow bar, draw bar or other non-articulated coupling on the rear of the vehicle.
Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM)
Tare weight (i.e. unladen weight) of the motor vehicle plus its maximum carrying capacity excluding trailers.
Bus
A motor vehicle constructed for the carriage of passengers which has at least 10 seats, including the driver's seat.
Crash
Any apparently unpremeditated event reported to police, or other relevant authority, and resulting in death, injury or property damage attributable to the movement of a road vehicle on a public road
Road death or fatality
A person who dies within 30 days of a crash as a result of injuries received in that crash.
Fatal crash
A crash for which there is at least one death.
Preliminary data
Data for recent months are preliminary and subject to revision.
About the data
Data for this report is sourced from the Australian Road Deaths Database(Opens in a new tab/window) (ARDD).
Download data
CKAN Data Catalogue
Note: If CKAN is offline, refer to file download above.
Limitations
In general, a heavy truck as identified in the ARDD is a freight-carrying vehicle with a gross vehicle mass of over 4.5 tonnes. We use the identification of heavy trucks as supplied by the states and territories, which can vary.
