South Australia experienced 44 fatalities and 434 serious injuries on its roads in the first half of 2024, indicating a challenging path towards achieving the state’s road safety targets, according to the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA).
RAA reviewed the crash statistics, showing that 434 serious injuries represent the second-highest mid-year total in more than 10 years, second only to 2023.
To stay on course with the Road Safety Strategy goals, which aim for a 50% reduction in deaths and a 30% reduction in serious injuries by 2031, South Australia needs to record fewer than 80 fatalities and 637 serious injuries by the end of the year.
Since the mid-year analysis, three more fatalities have been reported, bringing the total for the year to 47.
Most Australian states and territories are seeing an upward trend in road trauma, with Tasmania and South Australia being the exceptions, where mid-year fatalities are below their five-year averages. Nationally, road fatalities for 2024 are 7.7% higher than the average.
RAA senior manager for safety and infrastructure Charles Mountain noted that while the rate of road trauma in South Australia is lower compared to 2023, the number of crashes remains significant.
“Behind every road trauma statistic is a real person who has had their life tragically cut short or permanently impacted by a crash – and the number of serious crashes so far in 2024 is devastating,” he said. “Serious injuries in particular are still occurring at an alarming rate, well above where they would be if SA was on track to reach the targets set out in the SA Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan. Four hundred thirty-four serious injuries to start 2024 is alarming, and shows more needs to be done to get on top of this trend.”
Mountain said older drivers are overrepresented in crashes in the first half of 2024, as they were last year.
“That should remind even experienced drivers not to be complacent behind the wheel, or for families to think about other options for older family members, such as public transport or carpooling,” he said. “Overall, compared to the five years from 2014-18, between 2019-23 the average number of lives lost and serious injuries rose by 22% and 9% respectively – showing this has been a sustained trend in the wrong direction.”
The RAA, which recently published data revealing the leading cause of car insurance claims in South Australia, continues to push for more transparent and timely crash data and a nationally consistent approach to data reporting to better inform strategies for reducing road trauma.
