State with highest road toll revealed

The death of a truck driver has extended one state’s unwanted record as having the highest road toll in the nation.

Another horrific traffic accident has extended Queensland’s unwanted record as having the nation’s highest road toll in 2021.

The forensic crash unit on Monday announced it was investigating the death of a 33-year-old man in an early morning truck crash at Tamborine, south of Brisbane.

The vehicle appears to have veered off the road before 6am, hit a tree and rolled down an embankment. The driver and sole occupant of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene.

Queensland’s 291 fatalities in the first 11 months of the year were the most in the country and the state’s highest total in at least five years. Picture: Josh Woning

His tragic passing is the latest in a horror year for deaths on roads – both in Queensland and nationally.

Data from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) confirmed travel restrictions, lockdowns and reduced traffic volumes did not stop the nation’s road toll rising 1.4 per cent to 1126 deaths in the 12 months to November 30.

Queensland’s 291 fatalities in the first 11 months of the year were the most in the country and the state’s highest total in at least five years. NSW was next with 266, followed by Victoria at 230.

The Sunshine State also had the largest annual rise in fatalities with a 10.2 per cent jump, even though the roads from NSW were mostly shut since July.

The Sunshine State also had the largest annual rise in fatalities. Picture: Josh Woning

AAA boss Michael Bradley said the stats reflected a “chaotic” national approach to road safety that had been shown by recent inquiries and reviews that “still lack clarity and co-ordination”.

“National road trauma data collection and reporting remains shambolic,” Mr Bradley said.

“At a time when Australians have daily reporting of Covid infections, hospitalisations, deaths, and vaccinations split by age, gender, and jurisdiction, nobody knows how many Australians were seriously injured on our roads last year, let alone the interventions likely to deliver improvements in the future.”

In the past week there have been another four fatalities in Queensland, including Monday’s truck driver.

Nationally, motorcyclist deaths rose almost 16 per cent to 219 to the end of November.

Originally published as State with highest road toll revealed