Australia’s most dangerous roads revealed

Max Davies

Australian insurance company AAMI has released a report on accident statistics from the past decade, revealing the country’s most dangerous crash hotspots.

The Decade of Driving Report is part of the annual Crash Index and is compiled by analyzing more than 4.3 million motorcycle damage claims across Australia between 2014 and 2023. It aims to provide insight into road accidents and driving behavior and how these are changed.

Leah James, AAMI’s motor claims manager, says that while there have been changes and improvements in car technology and vehicles in general, attitudes and behaviors while driving have not changed in the same way.

“What we hope to achieve with our AAMI Decade of Driving Report is to raise awareness of where, when and how accidents happen so that Australian drivers can be better informed and educated on how to drive more safely,” she said.

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According to the report, the country’s worst crash spot is Plenty Road in Bundoora, a suburb in Melbourne’s northeast. Like most other hotspots in Australia, Plenty Road is a busy main road and has been ranked number one in Victoria for over five years.

Here’s a look at the worst crash hotspots in each state and territory:

Stands Away Suburb/city
Victoria Enough way Bundoora
New South Wales Hume Highway Liverpool
Queensland Bruce Highway Rockhampton
Western Australia Albany Highway Cannington
Australian Capital Territory Canberra Avenue Physwick
South Australia Marionweg Marion
Tasmania Zandbaaiweg Sandy bay
Northern Territory Stuart Highway Darwin

In all states except Tasmania, the top crash hotspot has been the same for more than five of the last ten years.

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Ms James says AAMI’s 2022 Crash Index on Plenty Road contributed to a speed reduction trial that became a permanent change that same year.

Based on auto claims from 2019 to 2023, the speed reduction contributed to a 26 percent drop in crashes on that road.

The report also reveals some other important crash data, including the most dangerous times for crashes.

The afternoons between 1pm and 4.30pm remain the most dangerous time of day for incidents, accounting for 28 per cent of car claims.

On Fridays, drivers are most likely to have an accident, while women are also much less likely to cause an accident than men, with a distribution of 46 to 54 percent.

The most common type of collisions nationwide over the past decade were nose-to-tail crashes (26 percent).

Below is a look at the top 10 worst crash hotspots in each state and territory. The infographics are from AAMI’s report and you can click on any of the infographics for a closer look.

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