National road safety data shows pedestrian deaths have increased by almost 50 per cent since 2021

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

The number of pedestrians killed in Australia has risen by almost 50 per cent in four years as the country's road toll reaches a 15-year high, according to the nation's peak motoring body.
Australian Automobile Association (AAA) managing director Michael Bradley said it was a sign the federal government's national road safety strategy was "falling well short of its targets".
The national road safety data hub shows 1,340 people died on Australia's roads in the 12 months to July 31, 2025, which was a 2.9 per cent increase from the previous year.
This toll includes 205 pedestrians, which is 44 more than the 12 months prior.
"Since 2021, when Australian government adopted a national road safety strategy target of halving road deaths by 2030, total road fatalities have increased by 22.2 per cent," an AAA spokesperson said.
"Over the same period, fatalities among pedestrians have increased by 48.6 per cent."
A spokesperson for Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the government had introduced a number of new vehicle standards in recent years to improve safety outcomes for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
"This includes Australian Design Rules that cover devices for indirect vision to reduce blind spots around trucks and advanced emergency braking for passenger vehicles to reduce fatal collisions with pedestrians," they said.
New South Wales was the deadliest state for road fatalities, with 355 deaths recorded between August 2024 and July 2025 — 17 more lives than the year prior.
Both Queensland and Victoria recorded 299 deaths, an increase of 2.7 and 1.7 per cent respectively.
Western Australia's fatalities spiked by 12.7 per cent with 204 deaths over 12 months.
The road toll rose 14.3 per cent in the ACT, and by 41.9 per cent in Tasmania where 44 people were killed.
In South Australia, the road toll improved by 9.4 per cent, and in the Northern Territory the lives lost decreased from 64 to 44 this past year.
The AAA is calling for more transparency around what could be causing these dangerous encounters, particularly those involving pedestrians.
"The rising rate of pedestrian deaths was driven by sharp increases in Western Australia — 31 deaths, up from 14 a year earlier — and Queensland — 37 deaths, up from 23 a year earlier," a spokesperson said.
Australian Pedestrian Association chief executive Harold Scruby questioned the decision to allow e-mobility devices on footpaths.
"Footpaths were created for one purpose, to protect pedestrians from vehicles and to make us safe — and what do we do? We invite these high-powered motor bikes and e-scooters, and we expect things to not go awry," he said.
Mr Scruby said the use of e-mobility devices were putting pedestrians in harms way, with eight e-scooter deaths recorded in Queensland alone last year.
"It's just madness," he said.
Earlier this year, the Queensland government launched an inquiry into e-scooter and e-bike safety to look at the current rules around the mobility devices, how they shape up to other jurisdictions, and how laws are enforced.
"The increase in injuries and deaths we are seeing because of unsafe and unlawful riding cannot be ignored and I share the community's concern," Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said.
Australia's transport ministers met in Melbourne this month where they agreed the Western Australian government would draft a framework to regulate the use of e-scooters, that would be supported by other jurisdictions.
But Mr Scruby said the action would not make up for the lives already taken.
"We kill so many more people in road trauma compared to guns and knives alone."
A spokesperson for Ms King said while the regulation of e-bike and e-scooter use is the responsibility of states and territories, the "community concern and risk" they presented was clear.
"That's why the Australian government is continuing to work with the states and territories to identify the risks and opportunities they, as well as personal mobility devices more broadly, present — and identify appropriate risk management strategies," they said.