1300 dead: Worst road toll in 15 years a national ‘crisis’

Australia has recorded its highest road death toll in 15 years, amid fresh warnings. SEE THE MAP

A review will look into how the road toll can be brought down.

Australia has recorded its highest road death toll in 15 years, as a national motoring peak body warns efforts to halve the devastating figures across the country have been derailed.

And Queensland road death numbers had also spiked, with the toll increasing by 5.9 per cent within the last year.

Data from the Australian Automobile Association revealed the nation had seen its deadliest 12 months on the road since 2010, with 1337 deaths, up 4.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Queensland recorded 303 deaths in the 12 months to May 2025 compared to the 286 in the same period last year.

The increase was partly due to a spike in cyclist and pedestrian deaths, which were up 36.7 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively.

AAA managing director Michael Bradley said the figures revealed federal and state governments were “wildly off track” to halve road deaths by 2030 as outlined by the National Road Safety Strategy.

Australia’s road toll is the highest it has been in 15 years.

“This latest data shows this strategy has seen fatalities increase 21.9 per cent since its inception. This strategy is due for review and the Federal Government needs to show national leadership and ensure this review gets to the bottom of this worsening crisis,’’ Mr Bradley said.

“The upcoming review needs to urgently clarify what’s working, what’s not, and how we need to change the way we’re managing road trauma across Australia.”

Several other states also saw an increase including Victoria (5.7 per cent), Western Australia (12.1 per cent), Tasmania (43.3 per cent) and the ACT (28.6 per cent).