WA on track to break grim two-decade record as road toll climbs sharply

Western Australia is on track to record more than 200 deaths on the state’s roads across the year for the first time since 2008, prompting urgent calls for a change in driver attitudes.

More than 110 people have died on WA roads between January and June, including a 41-year-old man who lost control of his car in Bullsbrook late Sunday morning, crashing into a tree.

And a 19-year-old man faced court in Geraldton on Friday, charged with murder over a fiery crash that claimed the life of a 29-year-old woman last week.

Rhys Heron, the head of communications at insurer RAC, said road deaths in WA had been at “crisis levels” for consecutive years.

“If we keep going the way we’re going, we will likely see more than 200 people killed on our roads for the first time in 18 years,” Heron said.

“We need to put an end to the complacency which has caused road fatalities to start rising again – every life lost is an unacceptable, preventable tragedy.”

Last year, 184 people died on WA roads, which followed 188 in 2024. Heron said WA was once the national leader in road safety but “for the past two decades, under successive governments, we have consistently been one of the worst”.

“WA’s current road deaths per capita are the highest of any state in the nation,” he said.

“These are real people whose lives have been cut short, and their families and loved ones left to deal with the devastating consequences.

“It’s crucial road users slow down, ditch the distractions and focus on arriving safely.”

A WA Road Safety Commission spokesperson said the issue was complex, challenging, constantly changing, “and it requires a unified community-driven approach to reduce fatalities”.

“Any fatality on WA roads is unacceptable,” they said.

“The bottom line is WA drivers need to take more responsibility for their actions and plan ahead for any trip to make every journey safe.”

While the road toll has seen an uptick in 2026, the situation is still markedly different from the 1970s, when annual fatalities were more than 300 a year.

The government is tipping millions of dollars into regional point-to-point speed cameras over the coming years, alongside an investment in school zone speed enforcement and a plan to double the number of safety camera trailers on WA roads.

Heron said RAC welcomed government investment in road safety campaigns, enforcement and infrastructure, but more was needed for WA back to meet the targets of state and national road safety strategies.

“This includes securing Commonwealth funding for the full delivery of the Regional Road Safety Program on local roads,” Heron said.

“We also need to see an increased focus on Perth intersections, where one in two serious crashes occur, and funding provided to local governments and communities to support safer speeds.

“At a time when the Road Trauma Trust Account is receiving record levels of revenue, it is concerning that road deaths continue to rise.”

Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby recently revealed that new AI cameras had detected some “extraordinary things ... behind the wheel” over the past several months, including a man reading a book and a woman breastfeeding a baby.

“That is insane,” Whitby said at the time.

“Who would do that? After all the publicity about fines and demerits, after the warnings, this is still happening.

“This is why we can’t give up, and we’ve got to keep going.

“This is why the safety cameras are out there. This is why we need to do this.”