State on track for 200 fatalities as RAC calls for urgent change in driver behaviour
Updated ,first published
Western Australia is on track to record more than 200 deaths on the state’s roads for the year for the first time since 2008, prompting urgent calls for changes in driver attitudes.
More than 110 people died on WA roads between January and June; They include a 41-year-old man who lost control of his car and crashed into a tree in Bullsbrook late Sunday morning.
And A 19-year-old man appeared in court in Geraldton on Fridayhas been charged with murder for a fiery crash that claimed the life of a 29-year-old woman last week.
Rhys Heron, head of communications at insurer RAC, said road deaths in WA were at “crisis levels” in a row.
“If we continue to move forward this way, we will probably see more than 200 people killed on our roads for the first time in 18 years,” Heron said.
“We need to end the complacency that has allowed road deaths to start rising again – every life lost is an unacceptable, preventable tragedy.”
184 people died on WA roads last year, with 188 expected to die in 2024. Heron said WA was once a national leader in road safety but “over the last two decades, under successive governments, we have consistently been one of the worst”.
“WA’s current rate of road deaths per capita is the highest of any state in the country,” he said.
“These are real people whose lives have been cut short and their families and loved ones have to face the devastating consequences.
“It is crucial that road users slow down, avoid distractions and focus on arriving safely.”
A spokesperson for the WA Road Safety Commission said the problem was complex, challenging and ever-changing and “requires a joined-up community-led approach to reduce fatalities”.
“Any death on WA roads is unacceptable,” they said.
“As a result, WA drivers need to take more responsibility for their actions and plan any journeys in advance to make each journey safe.”
Although the road toll is expected to increase in 2026, the situation is significantly different from the 1970s, when annual deaths were more than 300 per year.
The government will pour millions of dollars into regional point-to-point speed cameras over the coming years, as well as investing in speed enforcement in school zones and a plan to double the number of safety camera trailers on Western Australia’s roads.
Heron said the RAC welcomed government investment in road safety campaigns, enforcement and infrastructure, but more was needed to achieve the objectives of WA’s state and national road safety strategies.
“This includes securing Commonwealth funding for the full implementation of the Regional Road Safety Program on local roads,” Heron said.
“We also need funding for local authorities and communities to focus more on Perth intersections, where one in two serious crashes occur, and to promote safer speeds.
“At a time when the Road Trauma Trust Account is generating record revenue, it is worrying that road deaths continue to rise.”
Minister for Road Safety and Policing Reece Whitby recently revealed the emergence of new AI cameras He had spotted some “remarkable things…behind the wheel”, including a man reading a book and a woman breastfeeding her baby.
“This is crazy,” Whitby said at the time.
“Who is going to do this? After all the publicity and warnings about fines and penalties, this is still going on.”
Whitby addressed the RAC’s comments at a press conference on Wednesday morning, revealing WA had the highest death rate per 100,000 people of any state, which was likely partly due to the state’s vastness.
“We have a very large geographical area, there is a lot of intercity driving, but there is no excuse for that,” he said.
“One [death] too much. The death rate per 100,000 people in Western Australia has decreased since 2007. It was over 11 per 100,000 people, now it’s six, but that’s no reason to relax.
“We’re seeing these real numbers increase as our population grows, and we have a strong economy that brings more traffic to the roads. We must do more.”
Whitby said he was looking at new initiatives “where we can be more flexible with our penalties”.
“So we get really tough on people who do the wrong thing and give people a break when they do the right thing,” he said.
“Our request to drivers is that you have to be responsible. We have safe roads and safe vehicles… but we still see single-vehicle accidents, we still see a single car going off the road and hitting a tree. What’s going on out there?”
“We will continue to do what we can and I believe we need a tougher approach to crime on the roads and I am prepared to do that but I also want drivers to do the right thing.”
Holly Thompson is a journalist at WAtoday specializing in education and the environment.Connect with: X or email.
