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Transport

Road traffic accidents involving fatalities and casualties In 2000 the number of accidents involving fatalities in Australia rose for the first time since 1995, increasing by 5% from the number in 1999 (table 23.20). All States except Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory recorded increases in fatal road traffic accidents in 2000, South Australia recording the largest jump (14.4%) from 1999.

Australia-wide, there were 1,819 deaths in 2000 from road traffic accidents, an increase of 3.2% on the previous year and the highest level since 1996. South Australia recorded the highest increase (9.9%). Between 1994 and 2000 the number of persons killed from road traffic accidents fell in New South Wales (by 6.7%), Queensland (23.9%), and Tasmania (27.1%). A large fall (by 10.3%) in total road fatalities occurred in 1997, with Tasmania (down 50.0%), South Australia (down 18.2%) and Western Australia (down 20.2%) being the main contributors to the decline from 1996. The other years since 1994 experienced small fluctuations in fatalities.


23.20 ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS INVOLVING FATALITIES, By State/Territory
Year
NSW
Vic.
Qld
SA
WA
Tas.
NT
ACT
Aust.
ACCIDENTS INVOLVING FATALITIES (no.)
1994
552
345
364
143
195
52
36
15
1,702
1995
563
371
408
163
194
53
56
14
1,822
1996
538
382
338
162
220
53
58
17
1,768
1997
525
346
322
123
184
29
56
17
1,602
1998
491
348
257
152
199
47
59
20
1,573
1999
506
345
273
132
188
47
44
17
1,552
2000
543
373
276
151
185
38
48
16
1,630
2001(a)
238
200
134
69
76
34
20
7
778
PERSONS KILLED (no.)
1994
646
377
418
159
211
59
41
17
1,928
1995
620
418
456
181
209
57
61
15
2,017
1996
581
417
385
181
247
64
72
23
1,970
1997
576
377
361
148
197
32
60
17
1,768
1998
556
390
279
168
223
48
69
22
1,755
1999
577
383
314
151
217
53
49
19
1,763
2000
603
407
318
166
213
43
51
18
1,819
2001(a)
260
217
142
77
83
43
24
7
896
(a) For 6 months January to June 2001.

Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Road Fatalities Australia.

The fatality rate from road traffic accidents per 100,000 persons in the Northern Territory was almost three times higher than the national rate in 2000, at 26.1 deaths per 100,000 persons (table 23.21). The Australian Capital Territory had the lowest rate of fatalities (5.8 per 100,000 persons).


23.21 ROAD TRAFFIC FATALITIES, By State/Territory - 2000
Persons killed
State/Territory
no.
per 100,000
population(a)
per 10,000 motor
vehicles registered(b)
New South Wales
603
9.3
1.6
Victoria
407
8.5
1.2
Queensland
318
8.9
1.4
South Australia
166
11.1
1.6
Western Australia
213
11.3
1.6
Tasmania
43
9.1
1.3
Northern Territory
51
26.1
4.9
Australian Capital Territory
18
5.8
0.9
Australia
1,819
9.5
1.5
(a) Estimated resident population at 30 June 2000.
(b) Number of registered motor vehicles and motor cycles (excluding tractors, caravans, plant and equipment) at 31 October 1999.

Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Road Fatalities Australia; population data - Estimated Resident Population, Australia, June 2000 (3201.0); registered vehicles - Motor Vehicle Census, Australia, 31 October 1999 (9309.0).


In 1999, the Northern Territory had the highest rate of casualties from road traffic accidents (191.3 per 100,000 persons and 35.8 per 10,000 vehicles in 1999), as shown in table 23.22. Victoria had 112.4 casualties per 100,000 persons resulting from road traffic accidents - a higher rate than the Australian Capital Territory (59.6), Tasmania (88.5), South Australia (91.8), Queensland (107.8) and Western Australia (111.2).


23.22 ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS INVOLVING CASUALTIES(a), By State/Territory - 1999
Persons injured
State/Territory
no.
Per 100,000 of
population(b)
Per 10,000 motor
vehicles registered(c)
New South Wales(d)
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
Victoria
5,298
112.4
16.2
Queensland
3,787
107.8
16.4
South Australia
1,371
91.8
13.3
Western Australia
2,070
111.2
15.4
Tasmania
416
88.5
12.6
Northern Territory
369
191.3
35.8
Australian Capital Territory
185
59.6
9.4
(a) Accidents reported to the police or other relevant authority which occurred in public thoroughfares and which resulted in death within thirty days or personal injury to the extent that the injured person was admitted to hospital.
(b) Estimated resident population at 30 June 1999.
(c) Number of registered motor vehicles and motor cycles (excluding tractors, caravans, plant and equipment) at 31 October 1999.
(d) The release of these data for New South Wales has been suspended by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority.

Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Road Injury Database; Population data - Estimated Resident Population, Australia, June 1999 (3201.0); registered vehicles - Motor Vehicle Census, Australia, 31 October 1999 (9309.0).


International comparison of road traffic fatalities

Table 23.23 shows for 1998 how the number of fatalities in Australia compare with those for selected other countries. While Australia's rate of 9.4 road traffic-related fatalities per 100,000 persons is comparable to that of Canada (9.7) and Japan (8.5), it is considerably lower than for the USA (15.3) and France (15.1). Australia's rate is, however, markedly higher than for the UK and Sweden which both recorded 6.0 road traffic-related fatalities per 100,000 persons in 1998.


23.23 ROAD TRAFFIC FATALITIES, International Comparisons - 1998
Persons killed
Total population
Country
no.
per 100,000 of
population
millions
Australia
1,755
9.4
18.8
Canada
2,934
9.7
30.3
France
8,918
15.1
59.0
Japan
10,805
8.5
126.5
New Zealand
502
13.3
3.8
Sweden
531
6.0
8.8
Switzerland
597
8.4
7.1
United Kingdom
3,581
6.0
59.2
USA
41,471
15.3
270.3
Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Bench-marking Road Safety - The 1998 Report.
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