Australia’s road toll hits 12-year high as pedestrian and cyclist fatalities rise

Government figures show 1,300 people died on the roads last year in a worsening trend not seen since the 1960s

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Australia's roads are getting deadlier, as a four-year period of surging fatalities marks a trend of increasing danger not recorded since the 1960s, before seatbelts were compulsory.

Annual road fatality data collated by the federal government's Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) shows that 1,300 people died on Australian roads in 2024, up from 1,258 in 2023.

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