Rising road deaths demand policy reset

A total of 1,336 people died on Australian roads in that 12-month period (56 more than in the previous corresponding period).

Deaths among vulnerable road users (people not travelling in a car, bus or truck) rose by 7.0% in the 12 months to 28 February 2026. There were 523 vulnerable road user fatalities (202 pedestrians, 271 motorcyclists and 50 cyclists). Pedestrian deaths rose 16.8% and cyclist deaths rose 19.0% from the previous corresponding period, while motorcyclist deaths fell by 1.1%.

This was the 33^rd consecutive month that the 12-month road deaths total rose. The last time it was lower than in the previous corresponding period was May 2023.

"Since the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-30 began in January 2021, crash fatalities have risen by 21.8 per cent," AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said.

All Australian governments agreed to the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-30. This Strategy aims to halve national road fatalities through the decade to 2030. But five years in, it has instead delivered an ongoing increase in road deaths, and three of its five headline targets remain unmeasurable.

The AAA notes that the Australian Government is currently reviewing the Strategy.

"The Federal Government must use this review to correct this years-long surge in road trauma by enhancing the Commonwealth's role in transport safety."

Source: National Road Safety Data Hub

Mr Bradley said: "Many observers are speculating about why road deaths are rising nationally and why they are worse in some states than others. But we need more than guesswork to curb this growing crisis.

"The starting point is gathering hard facts that help us understand what's causing road deaths to rise in the first place.

"The AAA is calling on the Commonwealth to extend its powers to conduct no-blame investigations of transport fatalities beyond aviation, rail, and maritime incidents.

"The Government could begin with a targeted pilot focusing on one of the road safety issues of greatest concern, such as fatalities involving heavy vehicles, pedestrians or e-mobility devices.

"Lessons from a pilot project would not only show us how no-blame investigations can help identify the underlying causes of road crashes, but also what could be done to reduce future deaths and injuries.

"Reducing road trauma requires better roads, regulatory change and public education campaigns. All of these would be better targeted, more evidence-based, and more effective if informed by a national no-blame investigation approach."

In the 12 months to 28 February 2026, the Northern Territory recorded the nation's highest rate of crash fatalities per 100,000 residents - 14.3 - despite its decline in annual road deaths. But in the previous corresponding period, the NT's fatality rate had been even higher - 20.3.

The jurisdiction with the second-highest fatality rate was Tasmania (7.8, up from 6.3 in the previous corresponding period), followed by Western Australia (6.1, down from 6.3), Queensland (5.6, up from 5.2), South Australia (4.3, down from 4.9), NSW (4.4, up from 3.7), Victoria (3.9, down from 4.2) and the ACT (3.1, up from 2.1). The national fatality rate was 4.8 (up from 4.7).