Road toll rises in almost every state and territory, putting safety strategy 'badly off course'

There would have been 193 fewer deaths on the nation's roads since 2021 if states and territories were on track to halve the road toll. (ABC Rural: Anthony Pancia)

The road toll in every state and territory except New South Wales and the Northern Territory has spiked in the past 12 months, prompting fears the national road safety strategy is failing to reduce deaths on Australia's roads.

The national road toll for the year to March 2023 reached 1,204, which was 67 more deaths than the 12 months before, according to independent monitoring by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA).