Australia’s road safety continues to improve

Official data from Australia shows a drop in road fatalities from 2004-2013. The report comes from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and reveals a 25% drop in all types of road fatalities in Australia. However, taking the growth in population into account shows an even greater gain in safety. Some key issues were highlighted by the Road Deaths Australia Summary report, which showed that drivers aged 65 and over accounted for 23% of road fatalities. Motorcycle riders also accounted for a high proportion of fatal crashes at close to 20% of all road deaths. A notable improvement in road safety has been recorded amongst drivers aged 17-25, with fatalities levels dropping 50%, and the biggest reductions recorded in ACT, New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. One topic of concern raised by the report further is that males account for close to 75% of all fatalities, while single vehicle accidents represent 47% of all crashes.