Skip to main content

Counting the high cost of road crashes for Australia

Australia pays a heavy penalty for road crashes, according to a report by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA). In addition to the personal tragedy involved, road crashes cost Australia’s economy a loss of US$23.93 billion (A$29.7 billion) in 2015 according to the AAA. The number of road crashes in Australia climbed 4% between 2006 and 2015 and reached 679,359. However road fatalities dropped by around 25% to 1,205 between 2006 and 2015.
September 15, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Australia pays a heavy penalty for road crashes, according to a report by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA). In addition to the personal tragedy involved, road crashes cost Australia’s economy a loss of US$23.93 billion (A$29.7 billion) in 2015 according to the AAA. The number of road crashes in Australia climbed 4% between 2006 and 2015 and reached 679,359. However road fatalities dropped by around 25% to 1,205 between 2006 and 2015. Improved vehicle safety and occupant protection has played a role in reducing the rate of death and serious injuries. The AAA also pointed out that while the fatality rate has been reduced, the annual cost of crashes has actually remained fairly constant.

Related Content

  • Mumbai’s poor record in India for road safety
    January 4, 2017
    The city of Mumbai officially has the worst record for road safety in India. During 2015, 586 people were killed in road crashes in the city, while a further 2,034 suffered serious injuries and there were 23,468 recorded crashes. Official statistics for 2016 have yet to be revealed but it is hoped that some of the city’s recent traffic measures will help reduce the toll. Cameras have been installed at key junctions with around 4,000 units now in operations, while police have become much tougher on enforcing
  • Safer Swiss roads in 2019
    April 1, 2020
    Switzerland’s roads became safer in 2019.
  • UK road deaths increasing for 2016
    November 3, 2016
    Worrying figures have been revealed regarding the UK’s road casualty rate for the last 12 months year ending on June 2016. There were 1,800 reported road fatalities during this period, a 2% increase from the 1,770 recorded for the previous year. However, this increase may come from a combination of factors that have come about by chance, rather than any specific change. The killed or seriously injured casualties (KSIs) increased by 3% to 24,620 compared with the year ending June 2015. This change is s
  • Kenya sees slight drop in road casualties
    December 19, 2018
    Kenya is seeing a slight improvement in its road safety statistics, with a minor reduction in the country’s annual road casualty rate. The data comes from Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), which reveals a drop in road deaths for 2018 compared with 2017. In 208 3,207 people died in road crashes in Kenya, a notable fall from the 3,658 recorded in 2017. Pedestrians accounted for 1,023 fatalities, while motorcycle riders accounted for 669 deaths. Meanwhile 658 vehicle passengers and 322 ve