How does Australia’s road safety record compare with other countries in the world? A regular review of our performance compared to Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development countries shows we usually track the OECD average. But in some ways we could definitely do better.
Death rate per 100,000 population in 2019
To account for small countries, this figure adjusts the death rate in road accidents for population size.
- Australia’s rate was 4.68 (4.4 at Sept 2021)
- Note, our major city rate was 2.22 compared to the very remote area rate of 29.94
- For comparison: Iceland was 1.66, US was 10.99
In the 10 years to 2019, our rate fell 23.9% compared to 25.7% in the OECD.
Death rate per 10,000 registered vehicles in 2019
This figure adjusts the death rate in road accidents for the number of cars on the roads.
- Australia’s rate was 0.61
- For comparison: Iceland was 0.18, US was 1.21
In the 10 years to 2019, our rate fell 27.8%, compared to 29.8% in the OECD.
Death rate per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled
This figure adjusts the death rate in road accidents for the distance these cars travel. The yearly trend in Australia shows our safety record could be much improved.
- Australia’s rate was 0.45
- For comparison: Iceland was 0.15, US was 0.69
In the 10 years to 2019, our rate fell 24.1%, compared to 33.1% in the OECD.
Note, Iceland came top in all three measures with only 6 deaths on the road. However, there were 770 road crashes with injuries (which this study does not measure).
Fatal road crashes by age group
Fatal road crashes disproportionately affect the very young and old. Australia roughly tracks OECD figures, except for 15-24 year olds (19.2% v OECD 14.7%) and over 65s (23% v OECD 26%).
It shows more could be done to protect 15-24 year olds.
Vulnerable road user deaths
Fatal road crashes disproportionately affect vulnerable road users, such as motorcyclists, pedestrians or cyclists.
- Australia’s rate was 34.6%
- For comparison: Iceland was 34%, Japan was 68%, OECD was 47.2%.
Gender ratios
Fatal road crashes disproportionately affect men.
- Australia’s rate for men was 76%
- For comparison: Greece was 84%, Japan was 67%, OECD was 74% men.
World road toll is falling
Fortunately, the road toll has been falling in most western countries because:
- New cars are fitted with more safety technology
- Roads are becoming safer
- People seriously injured are less likely to die because of better medical attention
- Speed cameras and slower speeds help promote safer driving.
Australia still has relatively good safety record and is safer than NZ or USA. However, it’s not as safe as Germany, UK or Norway, even though Germans drive at high speeds on the Autobahns and UK traffic is dense and fast moving.
As long as people are dying or being seriously injured on Australian roads, we need to buy green slips. Imagine a world where that was no longer necessary.
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