First Nations road toll research prompts call for community-led safety initiatives

A new study reveals the scale of road trauma among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW, highlights factors that help keep travellers safe, and urges greater investment in community-led road safety initiatives.

The research, published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, found that more than 7,500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 17 or over were seriously injured, and 320 were killed on the roads in NSW between 2005 and 2023. 

Road safety is a concern for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the country, not just in NSW. Previous research has shown that road injuries are the second leading cause of fatal injury amongst First Nations people, after suicide, and the burden is rising – with road injuries increasing more than 20% over the past decade.

The latest research shows just over half of people (53%) were injured while travelling in a car, while a quarter were on a motorcycle – with a fourfold increase in motorcyclist injuries between 2005 and 2023. About 10% of those injured were pedestrians, who were more likely to experience severe injuries or die.

The study used linked crash and health data from the NSW Centre for Road Safety, including police-reported crashes, ambulance, emergency department, hospital and mortality records.

One third of all injuries were of high severity and 9% of maximum severity, defined as an injury with a survival probability of at most 85.4%. Maximum severity cases accounted for 15% of pedestrian injuries – about double that reported for the general population in NSW.

The most common injuries were fractures (41%) and head injuries (19%), with young adults the most affected.

“Almost half of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders injured in a road transport crash were aged 17 – 29 and 68% were male,” said lead author Dr Holger Möller from UNSW Sydney’s School of Population Health. 

The study authors note increases in road injuries and fatalities may be linked to a range of factors, including poor road conditions, limited pedestrian infrastructure and higher off-road motorbike usage. Longer distances to emergency care may also contribute to more severe outcomes.

The study also uncovered factors that were protective and helped reduce injuries. 

“Those wearing a seat belt were eight times more likely to leave a crash with no or minor injuries. Holding a licence also meant you were less likely to be seriously injured,” Dr Möller said. 

Crashes in urban areas were less likely to result in serious injury or death, likely due to lower speed limits, better road infrastructure, and faster access to emergency care, Dr Möller added.

The study’s findings have prompted calls for greater investment in First Nations-led road safety programs.

Senior author Associate Professor Courtney Ryder, an Aboriginal academic in Public Health and Indigenous Health at Flinders University, said community-led, culturally appropriate road safety initiatives were essential to reducing the disproportionate burden of road trauma experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“There have been some great Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led road safety initiatives, but up until now there has been a gap in data to help communities develop tailored campaigns and prevention strategies. We haven’t had up-to-date Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander road injury data for NSW for 10 years,” A/Prof. Ryder said.

“Road injuries not only cause deaths, but also contribute to lifelong disability, as well as economic and social burden. The findings of this study offer new insights that could be used to develop tailored prevention campaigns. We need more investment in First Nations-led road safety initiatives.”