Horror start to festive season as road deaths surpass last year

The festive season is one of the most dangerous times of the year to be on the road, with one state reporting seven fatalities over a single weekend.

Seven people have died in the span of 48 hours on NSW roads, signalling a horror start to the holiday season – one of the most dangerous and deadly times of the year.

On Sunday, four people died as a result of car crashes, spanning Grenfell in the Weddin Shire, Tomingley in the Central West and Wee Waa in the North West.

This brings the total lives lost on NSW roads to 328, up from 324 this time last year.

There have been more people killed on NSW roads this year compared with 2023. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard.

On Saturday, a man in his 60s was killed and three others were injured after a car crashed into a group of cyclists during a race in Armidale.

A woman in her 30s, who was driving the car, was flown to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition after becoming trapped in her vehicle but died from her injuries on Sunday.

On Friday about 11.15pm, a man in his 40s was killed when two trucks collided on the Hume Highway near Gunning in the Southern Tablelands.

Over the same weekend, a 26-year-old man was killed when a ute and truck collided on a highway about 2am on Sunday near Tomingley, 54km southwest of Dubbo.

About 11.25am on Sunday morning, a man driving a ute was killed after the vehicle rolled on Culgoora Rd in Wee Waa near Narrabri.

At 10pm Sunday, two people were killed after a utility crashed and caught fire on Henry Lawson Way near Grenfell.

The death toll has increased for many states this year. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

It’s not just NSW that has reported an increase in fatalities, with an uplift in road-related deaths in a majority of Australian states.

In Queensland, there have been 241 reported road fatalities, up from 232 the year before.

It’s a similar story in Western Australia, with 177 reported fatalities this year, increasing from 145 in 2023.

In the Northern Territory, there have been 58 reported deaths on the roads in 2024, up from 31 reported fatalities in 2023.

In ACT, there have been nine deaths on the roads compared with four reported fatalities the year before.

As of October 2024, 26 people have died from road-related incidents in Tasmania, an 8 per cent increase from the 24 reported road fatalities in 2023.

Two states have reported a slight decrease in road fatalities, such as Victoria, which reported a 1.1 per cent fall from the year before.

In 2024, there are 275 reported road-related deaths, down from the 278 reported in 2023.

There have been 81 reported deaths on South Australian roads this year, down from the 117 reported last year.

Originally published as Horror start to festive season as road deaths surpass last year