This report is the latest in the BITRE series of annual road crash statistical reports. It presents annual counts of road deaths, injuries and standardised rates.
2019 : At a glance
In 2019 there were 1,195 road crash deaths. This is an increase of 5.3 per cent from 2018. Against the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020 baseline of 1,427 deaths, the total in 2019 was a 16.3 per cent reduction.
Reductions compared to the baseline years (2008-2010) varied from -27.7 per cent for Queensland, -13.6 per cent for New South Wales and -8.2 per cent for Victoria to +1.8 per cent for South Australia.
The reductions in fatality rates per population were greater than in annual counts of deaths. Between 2010 and 2019 the national annual fatality rate per 100,000 population decreased from 6.1 to 4.7 (or by -23.3 per cent). Over the decade, population increased by 15.1 per cent with the strongest increase (20.8 per cent) in Victoria.
In contrast to the decline in road deaths, hospitalised injuries have increased. The most recent annual count of hospitalised injuries (for 2017) was 39,330 and the trend increase since 2013 was 3.3 per cent per annum. A quarter of people who were hospitalised had High Threat To Life injuries.
Two thirds of road deaths occur in regional and remote areas, with one third occurring in a major city area. These proportions have not changed over the decade. In terms of fatalities per population, the rate increases as Remoteness increases. The rate for remote areas is approximately double that of regional areas and ten times that for major cities.