Rising road toll sparks demand for crash data transparency and cash

The Australian Automobile Association have called for crash data transparency and greater road repairs after 174 deaths on regional Victorian roads last year.

Calls are intensifying for greater transparency on crash data and more money for road repairs after deaths on regional Victorian roads in 2023 were up almost 30 per cent on the previous year.

Victoria had 299 road deaths last year, compared to 241 in 2022, with 174 of them outside Melbourne, according to Transport Accident Commission data.

The yearly figure was well in excess of the five-year average of 127 deaths on country roads as communities continue to raise concerns about the state of their roads.

The Australian Automobile Association claims state governments are collecting data needed to make sense of the nation’s worsening road toll, but not releasing it.

The data relates to the quality of roads, causes of crashes, and effectiveness of measures to prevent crashes.

Australian Automobile Association managing director Michael Bradley.

AAA managing director Michael Bradley said in the absence of good data, Australia had no “credible plan to understand its current road trauma problems or prevent their continuation”.

“While so much data relating to road quality and crash causation remains secret, Australia can neither identify the cause of its rising road toll, nor develop the most effective measures to reduce it,” he said.

“AAA research shows Australians are deeply cynical of how politicians prioritise road project funding and improved data transparency is a commonsense approach that enjoys overwhelming community support.’’

The nation recorded 677 road deaths in the second half of 2023, the deadliest consecutive quarters on Australian roads since the first half of 2010.

Victoria (22.5 per cent) had the second biggest year-on-year increases behind NSW (24.9 per cent).

Almost 300 people died on Victorian country roads last year, comfortably surpassing the five-year average. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

In the lead-up to the 2022 federal election, Labor committed to “co-operate with the states and territories to improve the timeliness and quality of road trauma data and look for opportunities to extract better quality road safety data from states and territories in return for funding of road projects”.

The AAA is calling on the Albanese Labor government to deliver on that promise.

Also, as part of its pre-budget submission, the AAA is asking the government to reinvest 100 per cent of net fuel excise into road infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Victorian government has confirmed more than 900 “drainage defects” were fixed on the state’s roads last year.

Also, a total of 24,980 “linear” metres of unsealed shoulder of roads had been graded and 10,280 potholes repaired.

The figures were provided to Victoria’s opposition roads spokesman Danny O’Brien in response to question on notice to Roads Minister Melissa Horne.

“The 24,980 linear metres graded is of course just 25km,” Mr O’Brien said.