The latest data from the Australian Road Deaths Database shows overall fatalities over the first six months of 2025 are up by 5.3%, with 652 deaths making it the worst half year since 2010.
However, the mix of fatalities has changed. Youth (aged 17-24) road fatalities have fallen by over 17%, while there has been a 16% increase in road fatalities aged 65 or older, and a 10% increase in those aged 35 to 64.
With much of the focus over the past 15 years on young drivers and their passengers, it is pleasing to see 17-to-24 year olds made up less than 14% of all vehicle occupant fatalities so far this year, the lowest rate recorded:
The sharpest increase – up 36% – in road fatalities has been seen in vulnerable road users – specifically pedestrians and cyclists, aged 35 or older, with 25 more fatalities so far in 2025:
Most states have seen a reduction in road fatalities, with the increase year on year focused in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania offsetting falls in other states:
Youth vehicle occupant fatalities fell year-on-year everywhere except in NSW and Tasmania, with the biggest falls in Queensland and Northern Territory:
The fall in youth driver and passenger fatalities, both in total numbers and as a proportion of all ages, is a result of multiple interventions that target road user behaviours. This includes educational programs such as Ryda, the nation’s largest and longest running program. RSE will never stop advocating for all communities benefiting from affordable access to best practice road safety education.
The lack of fall, or in some cases increases, in fatalities amongst other road users points to the need for additional programs targeting behaviour in older drivers, motor cyclists and cyclists.
While less than 20% of vehicle occupant fatalities were on roads with speed limits below 60km/h, two thirds of pedestrian fatalities are on these roads, the vast majority of which are on roads with limits of 50 or 60km/h.
The increase in pedestrian fatalities, especially involving older pedestrians, indicates a need for improvements in safety measures, particularly on roads outside of what are low-speed-high-pedestrian areas.
Nearly 4 out of 5 drivers who have lost their lives on Australian roads this year were male. This gender imbalance is most acute in young drivers aged 17 to 24, 92% of whom were males. This is a higher gender imbalance for drivers than in 2010:
| Driver fatalities by gender and age group, Jan-Jun 2010 | ||||||
| Female | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of driver fatalities | 22 | 14 | 37 | 13 | 86 | |
| % of driver fatalities | 0% | 29% | 25% | 28% | 29% | 28% |
| Male | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of driver fatalities | 1 | 54 | 43 | 95 | 32 | 225 |
| % of driver fatalities | 100% | 71% | 75% | 72% | 71% | 72% |
| All driver fatalities | 1 | 76 | 57 | 132 | 45 | 311 |
| Driver fatalities by gender and age group, Jan-Jun 2025 | ||||||
| Female | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of driver fatalities | 1 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 25 | 62 |
| % of driver fatalities | 33% | 8% | 23% | 18% | 31% | 22% |
| Male | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of driver fatalities | 2 | 33 | 40 | 95 | 55 | 225 |
| % of driver fatalities | 67% | 92% | 77% | 82% | 69% | 78% |
| All driver fatalities | 3 | 36 | 52 | 116 | 80 | 287 |
With the exception of youth passengers aged 17 to 24, there is less of a gender bias for vehicle passengers, with males making up 43% in 2025, compared to 39% in 2010:
| Passenger fatalities by gender and age group, Jan-Jun 2010 | ||||||
| Female | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of passenger fatalities | 7 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 19 |
| % of passenger fatalities | 47% | 56% | 16% | 52% | 46% | 61% |
| Male | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of passenger fatalities | 8 | 4 | 27 | 10 | 15 | 12 |
| % of passenger fatalities | 53% | 44% | 84% | 48% | 54% | 39% |
| All passenger fatalities | 1 | 76 | 57 | 132 | 45 | 311 |
| Passenger fatalities by gender and age group, Jan-Jun 2025 | ||||||
| Female | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of passenger fatalities | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 16 |
| % of passenger fatalities | 14% | 27% | 41% | 10% | 59% | 57% |
| Male | 13 to 16 | 17 – 25 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 64 | 65 plus | All ages |
| # of passenger fatalities | 6 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| % of passenger fatalities | 86% | 73% | 59% | 90% | 41% | 43% |
| All passenger fatalities | 7 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 28 |
Males also make up 72% of pedestrian fatalities, 81% of cyclist fatalities, and 93% of motorcycle rider fatalities from January to June this year.
Between January and June, 159 people lost their lives on New Zealand roads – 12% more than the same time the year before, and reversing an otherwise downward trend in road fatalities.
Alarmingly, youth fatalities have increased by 26%, with vehicle occupant fatalities up by 33%.
Similarly to Australia, New Zealand males are over-represented in road fatality statistics, making up 70% of all lives lost so far this year.
What can we all do to address this?
While governments at all levels work with providers like RSE to ensure the next generation of road users receive best practice road safety education to help them make better decisions on the road, all road users can help make our roads safer through:
- Knowing yourself, your capabilities, risk areas and limitations, and understanding how emotions impact decision-making. Ask yourself whether you are in the right mind state to be driving.
- Practicing speaking up if you ever feel unsafe as a passenger in a car.
- Developing an understanding of the challenges facing other road users, both vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, and heavy vehicle drivers.
- Slowing down, including driving to the conditions.
- Choosing and maintaining a safe vehicle.
- Never mixing alcohol or drugs with driving or cycling.
- Having a plan for managing and avoiding distractions from phones and passengers.
All of these key areas and more are covered in the Ryda program, one of the world’s largest and longest running road safety education programs.
