Canberra, Jan 28 Australia's road death toll has hit a 12-year-high, government data has revealed on Tuesday.
According to a new report from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) on Tuesday, there were 1,300 deaths on Australian roads in 2024.
It marks an increase from 1,258 deaths in 2023 and the highest figure since 2012 when there were also 1,300 deaths, reports Xinhua news agency, citing the government data.
The 12-year high comes after Australia's federal, state and territory governments in 2021 launched a 10-year national strategy to reduce the number of road deaths by half and the number of serious injuries by 30 per cent.
The National Road Safety Strategy set a target of gradually reducing road deaths from the 2018-20 annual average of 1,142 to fewer than 571 by 2030.
The BITRE report said the 2024 death toll was 127.7 per cent higher than the 2030 target.
Responding to the report, peak motoring body the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) said the national strategy is "wildly off-track."
"It is clear current road safety approaches are inadequate and that more action is required to save lives," AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said in a statement.
Out of Australia's eight states and territories, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania reported fewer road deaths in 2024 than in 2023.
In New South Wales - the country's most populous state - the death toll was unchanged at 340 in both years, while Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory reported 79 more deaths combined in 2024 than in 2023.
November was the most dangerous month on Australian roads in 2024, with 131 deaths.
--IANS
int/sd
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor