South Australia leaps above the national average in road deaths

The RAA says urgent action is needed to bring down the state’s road toll.

• Enough is enough campaign to save lives
• Our out-of-control road toll

THE RAA has called for urgent action to halt the state’s spiralling road toll after a national report revealed South Australia will fail to meet its 2020 target to cut deaths and serious injuries.

Rather than cutting annual deaths by 30 per cent from the 2011 figure of 103, at the current rate, SA is this year on target to increase the toll to more than 110.

RAA spokesman Charles Mountain said the state’s above-average toll in only the first four months of 2019 had put it well above the national average and was a warning that urgent action was needed.

RAA spokesman Charles Mountain among markers which highlight the extent of the carnage on the state’s roads as part of National Road Safety Week. Image/Dean Martin.

“The 2018 road toll was a record low but more than 40 tragic crash deaths in the first four months of 2019 have thrown this positive trend firmly into reverse, and devastated the lives of many families,’’ he said.

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Mr Mountain was speaking after the RAA parent organisation, the Australian Automobile Association, released its annual analysis of state-by-state crash data, which found SA was lagging the nation.

It showed that South Australia has a road fatality rate of 5.23 for 100,000 people, placing it above the national rate of 4.67 and the third worst of any state behind WA and Tasmania.

The report found: “Australia’s road toll is a national crisis. Government must act decisively to rectify this ongoing tragedy’’.

The report found if SA could match Victoria’s nation-leading efforts, 28 lives could have been saved in the 12 months to the end of March this year. Mr Mountain said the horror start to 2019 on SA roads was “heartbreaking”.

“For South Australia to match Victoria’s road fatality rate, we need action from all levels of government,” he said.