ROAD DEATHS


The rate of road transport related deaths, injuries and accidents per 100,000 persons in NSW has been declining since the 1970s. Between 2000 and 2005, transport fatalities declined from 9.3 per 100,000 persons to 7.5 per 100,000 (-19%). Injury (-16%) and accident (-18%) rates have also declined.

Road Traffic Casualties and Crashes – 1990, 2000–05
	Persons killed		Persons injured		All recorded crashes(a)		Contributing factor in recorded crashes
	no.	rate per 100,000 population(b)	no.	rate per 100,000 population(b)	no.	rate per 100,000 population(b)	Alcohol (c)	Fatigue	Speed
							%	%	%
1990	797	13.7	32 153	551.1	59 407	1 018.3	7.1	7.3	13.4
2000	603	9.3	28 812	444.2	52 914	815.8	4.9	7.4	16.2
2001	524	8.0	29 913	454.9	51 814	788.0	4.7	6.6	17.0
2002	561	8.5	28 447	428.8	50 448	760.4	4.7	7.6	17.4
2003	539	8.1	27 208	407.2	49 266	737.3	4.2	7.5	17.0
2004	510	7.6	26 323	391.7	47 310	703.9	3.8	7.5	16.9
2005	508	7.5	25 209	372.4	45 554	673.0	4.0	7.7	17.3
(a) Based on 2005 revised estimated resident population.
(b) Recorded crashes are reported to the police and involved at least one fatality or injury or at least one vehicle towed away. Crashes of a lesser severity are not included in the RTA crash database.
(c) Data for Alcohol contributing factor involvement in crashes refers to the applicable legal limits at that time.
Source: Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW.

The contributing causes to accidents has also changed. Alcohol as a contributing cause to an accident has declined from 7.1% in 1990 to 4.0% in 2005. Speed as a contributing cause increased over the same period from 13.4% to 17.3%, while fatigue as a contributing cause has remained steady.

Fatality rates and contributing causes to accidents varied considerably between regions during 2005. Sydney had the lowest fatality rate of the regions at 4.7 per 100,000 persons. The contributing causes of speed, alcohol and fatigue to accidents were lower in Sydney than the rest of the state.

The South Eastern Statistical Division had the highest fatality rate at 20.2 per 100,000 persons and the highest contribution of speed to accidents (36.5% of accidents). Alcohol as a contributing cause was highest on the mid north coast (7.9%).

In all, over 300 of the State's 508 road transport fatalities in 2005 occurred outside of Sydney.

Road Traffic Casualties and Crashes – 2005
		Persons killed		Persons injured		All recorded crashes(a)		Contributing factor in recorded crashes
		no.	rate per 100,000 population(b)	no.	rate per 100,000 population(b)	no.	rate per 100,000 population(b)	Alcohol(c)	Fatigue	Speed
								%	%	%
Statistical Division
	Sydney	198	4.7	15 861	372.8	30 290	711.9	3.1	6.2	12.6
	Hunter	62	10.2	2 307	377.9	3 850	630.6	5.6	8.4	20.5
	Illawarra	23	5.6	1 387	334.9	2 431	587.0	4.6	7.8	20.6
	Richmond-Tweed	28	12.4	952	421.5	1 754	776.5	6.4	11.5	34.9
	Mid-North Coast	36	12.2	1 009	341.9	1 562	529.2	7.9	11.1	30.9
	Northern	30	16.8	619	345.6	945	527.6	5.9	11.5	28.1
	North Western	20	16.8	454	381.9	622	523.2	6.3	15.3	23.5
	Central West	28	15.6	667	370.4	1 049	582.6	5.1	11.2	33.3
	South Eastern	41	20.2	1 004	495.2	1 585	781.7	4.5	14.1	36.5
	Murrumbidgee	22	14.3	489	317.8	757	492.0	5.8	14.5	28.1
	Murray	18	15.6	384	332.4	609	527.2	5.7	9.7	20.5
	Far West	2	8.5	76	324.4	100	426.8	6.0	9.0	14.0
	New South Wales	508	7.5	25 209	372.4	45 554	673.0	4.0	7.7	17.3
(a) Recorded crashes are reported to the police and involved at least one fatality or injury or at least one vehicle towed away. Crashes of a lesser severity are not included in the RTA crash database.
(b) Based on 2005 revised estimated resident population.
(c) Data for Alcohol contributing factor involvement in crashes refers to the applicable legal limits at that time.
Source: Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW.