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Interesting Statistics

Car crashes – Serious injuries and deaths by road user, gender and age

Transport for NSW provides regular statistics on how many people are affected by car crashes throughout NSW.

Table 1 – Serious injuries by road user, year ending June 2023

  June 2023
June 2022
Change %
Driver  3,211 2,775 +16%
Passenger 1,111 892 +25%
Motorcyclist  2,409 2,267 +6%
Pedestrian  826 780 +6%
Cyclist  1,675 2,112 -21%
Other  431 494 -13%
Total  9,663 9,320 +4%

Table 1 shows cyclists had the biggest drop in serious injuries and passengers saw the biggest increase in serious injuries that year.

Table 2 – Serious injuries by gender, year ending June 2023

  June 2023
June 2022
Male  6,460 (66.9%)  6,410 (68.8%)
Female
 3,201 (33.1%)  2,910 (31.2%)
Total
9,663 9,320

Table 2 shows men consistently make up over two thirds of serious injuries in road accidents.

Table 3 – Serious injuries by age group, year ending June 2023

Age group  June 2023
June 2022  Change %
Under 16
800 933 -14%
17-25 1,738 1,652 +5%
26-39
2,118 1,921 +10%
40-49
1,228 1,221 +1%
50-69 2,322 2,316 0%
Over 70 1,448 1,271 +14%
Total  9,663 9,320 +4%

Table 3 shows under 16s saw the the biggest percentage drop while over 70s had the same percentage increase in serious injuries.

Note: The following statistics on road deaths are compared with the 3-year average, rather than the previous year.

Table 4 – Deaths by road user, year ending December 2023

  December 2023
3-Year average
 Change %
Driver  174 131.7 +32%
Passenger 68 37.7 +81%
Motorcyclist 53 54.7 -3%
Pedestrian 48 46.0 +4%
Cyclist  8 10.0 -20%
Total  351 280.0 +25%

Table 4 shows big increases in deaths, compared to the Covid-affected 3-year average. Passengers suffered the highest increase by far and only motorcyclists and cyclists had a drop in deaths.

Table 5 – Deaths by gender, year ending December 2023

  December 2023
3-Year average
Male  276 (78.6%) 206.0 (73.6%)
Female
75 (21.4%)  74.0 (26.4%)
Total
351 280.0

Table 5 shows well over 3 out of 4 deaths were men, and certainly above the 3-year average in NSW.

Table 6 – Deaths by age group, year ending December 2023

Age group December 2023
3-Year average  Change %
Under 16
25 17.0 +47%
17-25 69 52.6 +31%
26-39
69 56.0 +23%
40-49
37 35 +6%
50-69 89 62.0 +44%
Over 70 62 57.3 +8%
Total  351 280 +25%

Table 6 shows deaths increased most in the under 16s, then in 50-69 year olds. There were no decreases.

General comments

  • Rate of deaths per 100,000 population was 4.21 at December 2023, up since Covid-affected years from 3.48 at January 2023, 3.54 at April 2022 and 3.3 at April 2021. The highest rate was 5.2 per 100,000 in April 2020.
  • Rate of serious injuries per 100,000 population was 116.5 at June 2023, up from 107.7 at June 2022 but below 127.5 at June 2021. March 2014 peak was 150.2 per 100,000.
  • Total deaths increased by 25% and total serious injuries increased by 4% from Covid-affected years.
  • Men consistently make up over 3 quarters of all deaths and 2 thirds of all serious injuries.
  • Passengers had the biggest increases in deaths and serious injuries during the year.

Sources

All information is taken from Transport for NSW bulletins:

 

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