International Road Safety Comparisons 2019 [PDF: 1.41 MB]
International Road Safety Comparisons—Annual
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ISSN
1447-8218
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This report presents road deaths and road death rates for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations and Australian states and territories. The rates allow for a comparison of Australia’s road safety performance with that of other OECD nations by accounting for the differing levels of population, motorisation and distances travelled. The latest available international data is for 2019.
Fatalities per 100,000 population is the measure specified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Indicator 3.61) to monitor road crash trauma.
2019: At a glance
- In terms of the fatality rate per 100,000 population in 2019: Australia’s rate of 4.68 was ranked 16th out of the 36 nations. Between 2010 and 2019 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 23.9 per cent. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 25.7 per cent.
- In terms of the fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles in 2019: Australia’s rate of 0.61 was ranked 14th out of the 25 nations with available data. Between 2010 and 2019 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 27.8 per cent. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 29.8 per cent.
- In terms of the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) in 2019: Australia’s rate of 0.45 was ranked 11th out of 23 nations with available data. Between 2010 and 2019 Australia’s fatality rate declined by 24.1 per cent. Over the same period, the OECD median rate declined by 33.1 per cent.
- Comparing age-group distributions of persons killed in road crashes between Australia and the OECD shows that these are largely similar.
- In Australia in 2019, vulnerable road users (motorcyclist, pedestrian or pedal cyclist) accounted for 34.6 per cent of total road deaths. This is low compared to most other OECD countries.
- Latest Year 2019