#39 Rural Road Safety Month

The Australian Road Safety Foundation uses the month of September to highlight and call for action on rural and remote road safety. Designating September Rural Road Safety Month, the Foundation is encouraging communities, employers, schools and individuals to increase awareness and promote safer driving behaviours to manage risks on rural roads.

In crashes where Remoteness Area is reported, fatal crashes in regional areas outnumber those in major cities (Figure 1). While the yearly numbers are generally low for remote areas, the fatality rate per head of population increases dramatically with the level of remoteness (Figure 2).

Nationally, the current fatality rate per 100,000 people is 4.9 (12 months to July 2025). Data from the National Road Safety Strategy fact sheets shows 2018 fatality rates by remoteness level, where rates of 2.2 in Major Cities rise to 9.6 in Regional areas. Rates increase to 20.3 and 28.5, respectively, in Remote and Very Remote areas.

Numerous factors combine to produce the higher risk levels on rural and remote roads, including but not limited to:

• Higher speeds compared with urban areas

• Poor surface conditions

• Fatigue and longer journeys

• Not driving to conditions

• Limited enforcement

• Head-on and run-off-road crash types

• Older vehicles

While it sometimes suggested that tourists contribute disproportionately to rural and remote crashes, research has shown that this is not generally the case. The vast majority of crashes involve drivers who live within the region in which they crashed, and the majority are single-vehicle crashes[1].

[1] Sheehan et al. (2008). Rural and remote road safety study: final report. Brisbane, Queensland University of Technology.