Interesting Statistics

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

Too many people are injured or die in road accidents. Transport for NSW provides regular statistics on serious injuries and deaths by road user, age and gender

We provide a claims guide for people involved in road accidents.

Having a road crash and making a claim may also affect the price of your green slip.

Who was seriously injured?

Table 1 – Serious injuries by road user, year ending September 2024

	September 2024	September 2023	Change %
Driver	3,557	3,362	+6%
Passenger	1,159	1,204	-4%
Motorcyclist	2,938	2,733	+8%
Pedestrian	909	884	+3%
Cyclist	1,684	1,902	-11%
Other	448	528	-15%
Total	10,695	10,613	+1%

Table 1 shows fewer cyclists were seriously injured while motorcyclists saw the biggest rise in injuries that year.

Table 2 – Serious injuries by gender, year ending September 2024

	September 2024	September 2023	Change %
Male	7,173 (67%)	7,131 (67%)	+1%
Female	3,522 (33%)	3,481 (33%)	+1%
Total	10,695	10,613	+1%

Table 2 shows men consistently make up over two thirds of serious injuries in road accidents. This has been the case for years.

Table 3 – Serious injuries by age group, year ending September 2024

Age group	September 2024	September 2023	Change %
Under 16	942	880	+7%
17-25	2,084	1,937	+8%
26-39	2,268	2,270	+0%
40-49	1,339	1,331	+1%
50-69	2,605	2,630	-1%
Over 70	1,453	1,555	-7%
Total	10,695	10,613	+1%

Table 3 shows the biggest increases in serious injuries were for young people under 16 and 17-25.

Who died in a road accident?

Statistics on road deaths are compared with the 3-year average, rather than the previous year.

Table 4 – Deaths by road user, year ending May 2025

	May 2025	3-Year average	Change %
Driver	166	146.7	+13%
Passenger	53	49.3	+7%
Motorcyclist	79	55.7	+42%
Pedestrian	45	45.7	-2%
Cyclist	7	8.0	-13%
Total	350	305.3	+15%

Table 4 shows a big increase in deaths of motorcyclists. Only pedestrians had fewer deaths than average.

Table 5 -Deaths by gender, year ending May 2025

	May 2025	3-Year average	Change %
Male	274 (78%)	231.3 (76%)	+18%
Female	76 (22%)	74.0 (24%)	+3%
Total	350	305.3	+15%

Table 5 shows nearly 4 out of 5 deaths were men, up 18% and well above the 3-year average in NSW.

Table 6 – Deaths by age group, year ending May 2025

Age group	May 2025	3-Year average	Change %
Under 16	13	2.0	+6%
17-25	75	60.6	+24%
26-39	63	57.7	+9%
40-49	44	33.7	+31%
50-69	89	71.4	+25%
Over 70	66	62.7	+5%
Total	350	305.3	+15%

Table 6 shows sharp increases in deaths of 40-49 year olds, followed by 50-69 and 17-25s. Once again, there were no decreases from the average in deaths.

Summary of deaths and injuries

• Rate of deaths per 100,000 population was 4.1 at May 2025, down from 4.24 at June 2024, up since Covid-affected years from 3.8 at June 2023, 3.5 at June 2022 and 3.6 at June 2021. The rate in June 2016 was higher at 5.0 per 100,000.
• Rate of serious injuries per 100,000 population was 126.3 at September 2024, down from 126.5 at December 2023, up from 117.7 at December 2022, similar to 126.2 at December 2021. Peak in December 2013 was 145.5 per 100,000.
• Total deaths increased by 15% while total serious injuries increased by only 1%.
• Men continue to make up 4 out of 5 deaths and over 2 thirds of serious injuries.
• Motorcyclists had big increases in deaths and serious injuries during the year.

All our information comes from Transport for NSW bulletins:

• Monthly Bulletin of Preliminary Traffic Crash Data
• Quarterly Bulletin of Serious Injury Crash Data.