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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay Transport and urban affairs reporter

Deadliest six months on Australian roads since 2010 leaves industry demanding answers

Police inspect a car crash in Ashcroft, Sydney, in November 2023
A car crash in Ashcroft, Sydney, in November 2023. 677 people died on Australian roads in the final six months of last year. Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP

The second half of 2023 was the deadliest six months on Australian roads since 2010, but there is “no credible plan” to make roads safer, the industry claims, as it pleads for better data to understand what is causing the surge in fatal crashes.

In the three months to September 2023, there were 341 road deaths nationally. The following quarter’s figures decreased only slightly from that, with a further 336 deaths recorded to the end of December. The total 677 road deaths in the final six months of 2023 was the largest half-yearly road toll since the first half of 2010, when 688 people died on roads across Australia.

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