Roads Australia has warned the nation is drifting further from its road safety targets, with new analysis showing fatalities are rising rather than falling, particularly on urban streets.
The industry body’s latest report, Showcasing Safe Movement & Place, finds Australia is not on track to meet its commitment to halve road deaths by 2030 from 2018–2020 levels. Instead, deaths have increased over the past five years, with urban roads emerging as a critical area of concern.
While regional highways continue to account for a disproportionate share of fatalities, the report makes clear that serious trauma is not confined to high-speed rural corridors. Around one in four road deaths occur on local streets. In major cities, 40 per cent of fatalities happen on arterial roads, many of which double as high streets and activity centres.
The report highlights that roughly half of all road deaths in Australia’s major cities occur in 50–60 km/h zones. It also notes a sharp rise in 2025 fatalities on 50 km/h roads, alongside a 13 per cent increase in pedestrian deaths and a 32 per cent increase in cyclist deaths compared to 2024.
Roads Australia Chief Executive Officer Ehssan Veiszadeh said the figures demand urgent action.
“These deaths are not just statistics. They are parents, friends and children who never made it home after an ordinary trip to the shops, school or work,” Veiszadeh said.
“This is a critical moment to ask how safe our urban roads really are, and if we are doing enough to make them safer.”
The 66-page report sets out a suite of evidence-based measures aligned with the Movement and Place framework, which recognises roads as both transport corridors and destinations. It argues that streets with a strong place function, such as residential streets, town centres and shopping strips, should prioritise pedestrian safety and lower speeds.
“If a person on foot is hit by a car at 50 km/h, there is around a 90 per cent chance of death,” Veiszadeh said.
“At 40 km/h, the risk drops to approximately 40 per cent, and at 30 km/h, to just 10 per cent. Even small reductions in speed can save lives.”
Among the measures highlighted are 30 km/h residential speed limits, gateway treatments to signal lower-speed environments, raised wombat crossings, shorter pedestrian wait times at traffic lights, separated bike lanes and AI-enabled smart pedestrian signals. The report also calls for safer vehicle technologies, narrower urban lanes, truck restrictions in high-activity areas and targeted treatments at high-speed regional intersections.
International case studies cited in the report show substantial reductions in killed or seriously injured crashes following interventions such as congestion charging in London, protected cycleways in New York and Denmark, and 2+1 overtaking lane treatments in Sweden.
Veiszadeh said the key is matching the right intervention to the right road type rather than relying on a single solution.
“These are practical, evidence-based solutions that work,” he said.
“If we are serious about meeting our 2030 road safety targets, we need to prioritise safer speeds and make our streets safer for everyone.”
The report concludes that achieving Vision Zero will require sustained leadership, funding and coordination across federal, state and local governments, as well as a renewed focus on vulnerable road users in both urban and regional contexts.