The latest Road Safety Commission report, “Western Australian Road Fatalities and Serious Injuries 2024,” examines 2024 road crash data and compares it against the preceding five-year average (2019-2023).
Report Summary
In 2024, 1,600 people were killed or seriously injured in 1,381 road crashes on WA roads, including 188 fatalities and 1,412 serious injuries. It was reported that;
- Around 4 times as many males died in road crashes compared to females.
- 61% of fatalities occurred on regional roads.
- 60% of all killed or seriously injured incidents occurred on roads with speed limits of 70km/h or below.
- 64% of fatalities occurred on roads 80km/h or higher.
When compared to the five-year average there was an 8% decrease in the overall number of deaths and serious injuries, however the number of fatalities increased by 32% in 2024.
Summary of Risk Factors
In 2024, 34% of crashes that resulted in fatalities were due to hitting objects, 16% were non-collision, and 15% involved head-on collisions. Hitting an object has been the most fatal type of crash since 2019.
The 2024 report outlines the following changes in killed or seriously injured related to unsafe behaviours compared to the five-year-average;
- 1.8% decrease in the proportion of speed related killed or seriously injured.
- 2.2% decrease in the proportion of fatigue-related killed or seriously injured.
- 1.4% decrease in the proportion of motor vehicle occupants killed or seriously injured not using a seatbelt.
- 1.9% decrease in the proportion of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured not using a helmet.
- There were no significant changes in the proportion of killed or seriously injured related to driver inattention.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by a road crash contact Road Trauma Support WA on 1300 004 814.