Transport accidents

Transport is part of our daily lives and a major component of the economy. Unfortunately, every year, thousands of Australians are hurt or die in road and other transport accidents, most commonly while in a car, or on a motorcycle or bicycle.

Transport is the third leading cause of injury hospitalisations in 2023–24 and the fourth leading cause of injury deaths in 2022–23.

In 2023–24, transport injuries are estimated to have cost the health system about $1.5 billion. For more detail, see the health system spending report.

Note: Expenditure is an estimate - ICD-10 code inclusions may vary between reporting groups.

Transport injuries resulted in:

Injuries were most likely among:

Types of transport

In 2023–24, cars, motorcycles and pedal cycles were the types of transport most often associated with injury hospitalisations (Figure 1). It can be expected that transport injuries involving cars were the most common form of transport injury, due to the high use rates of cars by the general public. Cars were reported as the most common form of transport to work in the 2021 Census (ABS 2022) and passenger vehicles (which includes cars) made up just over two-thirds of total kilometres travelled during 2019–20 (ABS 2020).

Figure 1: Number and age-standardised rate of injury hospitalisations by type of transport involved, Australia, 2023–24

Note: ASR is the age-standardised rate per 100,000 population.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

In 2022–23, most transport injury deaths were for car occupants, motorcyclists and pedestrians (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Number and age-standardised rate of injury deaths by type of transport involved, Australia, 2022–23

Notes:

1. ASR is the age-standardised rate per 100,000 population.
2. ASRs where the numerator is less than 20 are not shown due to data volatility.

Sources: AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

For more detail, see Transport Supplementary Data tables.

Collision vs non-collision traffic injury hospitalisations

In 2023–24, 60.2% of transport hospitalisations were the result of a collision. The most common counterparties involved were:

• Car, pick-up truck or van (28.6%)
• Other and unspecified transport (12.0%)
• Fixed or stationary object (11.5%)

For more detail, see the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts data dashboard.

Transport injury trends

Over the past decade, the rate of transport injury hospitalisations has decreased slightly, with age-standardised rates ranging from 249.3 in 2014–15 to 242.5 hospitalisations per 100,000 in 2023–24 (Figure 3). The number of hospitalisations increased from 58,502 to 65,189 during the same period. The hospitalisation rate in 2023–24 was 2.9% lower than the previous 5-year average rate of 249.7 per 100,000 population.

Figure 3: Number and age-standardised rate of injury hospitalisations caused by transport, by financial year, Australia

Notes:

1. Bars are number of hospitalisations, and the line graph represents age-standardised rates (per 100,000 population).
2. Break in series between 2016–2017 and 2017–18. See technical notes for detail.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

The age-standardised rate of transport death has decreased over the decade. For transport deaths in 2022–23, the age-standardised rate was 4.1% lower than the previous 5-year average of 5.4 deaths per 100,000 population (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Number and age-standardised rate of injury deaths caused by transport, by financial year, Australia

Note: Bars are number of deaths, and the line graph represents age-standardised rates (per 100,000 population).

Sources: AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

Trends varied by type of transport. Among the top four transport types, and compared to the previous 5-year average:

• increases were seen in hospitalisation rates for pedestrians (9.7%) and motorcyclists (6.9%), as well as death rates for pedal cyclists (12.4%) and motorcyclists (6.0%)
• decreases were seen in hospitalisation rates for pedal cyclists (11.8%) and cars (3.7%).  Injury deaths rates for car accidents have decreased by 14.9% and for accidents involving pedestrians by 11.4% (Figure 5)

For more detail, see Transport Supplementary Data tables.

Seasonality

Transport injury hospitalisations vary across months, with hospitalisations tending to decrease over winter (Figure 6). In 2023–24, March had the highest number of hospitalisations (5,958), followed by October (5,875) and September (5,725). The winter months, June, July and August had the lowest number of hospitalisations for transport injuries. 

Transport injury hospitalisations due to motorcycle accidents were higher in 2023–24 compared to the 5-year average, especially in September and October, as well as March and April. Injury hospitalisations due to pedal cycle accidents in 2023–24 were overall lower than the 5-year-average, except in February and March. Injury hospitalisations related to car accidents in 2023–24 were similar to the 5-year average, with the most hospitalisations occurring in December.

For deaths due to transport injuries, December (141) and September (135) had the highest number which was also notably higher than the 5-year-average. June (102) and February (109) had the lowest number of deaths, sitting slightly below the 5-year-average.

What injuries occur?

Body part injured and type of injury

In 2023–24, the head and neck was the body part most often identified as the main site of injury in transport hospitalisations (61.4 per 100,000 population), followed closely by the trunk (61 per 100,000) (Figure 7).

There is some variation by the type of transport, with the most common body parts being:

For more detail, see Transport Supplementary Data tables.

Fractures were by far the most common type of injury for people who were hospitalised due to a transport accident (48.1%, 31,379 hospitalisations), most frequently fractures to the shoulder and upper limb and to the trunk (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Age-standardised rate of transport injury hospitalisations by type of injury and body part injured, Australia, 2023–24

Notes:

1. Rates are age-standardised per 100,000 population.
2. Rates under 1.0 are omitted.
3. Body part injured: Trunk includes thorax, abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine & pelvis, Shoulder and upper limb excludes hand and wrist, Hip and lower limb excludes ankle and foot, Other includes multiple and incompletely specified body regions, Not specified includes injuries not described in terms of body location.
4. Type of injury: Other/multiple includes other specified and/or multiple injuries.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS National, state and territory populations.

Activity while injured and place of occurrence

Severity

The average number of days in hospital for transport injuries was similar to the average for all hospitalised injuries in 2023–24, while the percentages of cases that included time in an ICU and cases that involved continuous ventilatory support were both higher. The rate of in-hospital deaths was lower (Table 1).

Notes:

1. Average number of days in hospital (length of stay) includes admissions that are transfers from one hospital to another or transfers from one admitted care type to another within the same hospital, except where care involves rehabilitation procedures.
2. All injuries includes transport injuries in the total calculations.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Age and sex

Rates of hospitalisation and death caused by transport injuries are higher among males and differ by age (Figure 9).

For transport injury hospitalisations in 2023–24:

• 43,929 cases (67.4%) were males
• the age-standardised rate for males (330.3 per 100,000 population) was 2.1 times that for females (154.3 per 100,000 population)
• males aged 15–24 had the highest rate (508.8 per 100,000 population).

For transport injury deaths in 2022–23:

• 1,051 deaths (73.8%) were males
• the age-standardised rate for males (7.8 per 100,000 population) was 2.9 times that for females (2.7 per 100,000 population)
• males aged 65+ had the highest rate (12.0 deaths per 100,000 population).

For more detail, see supplementary Transport data tables.

First Nations people

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (First Nations people):

• there were 3,853 hospitalisations due to transport accidents in 2023–24 (373.9 per 100,000)
• males were 2.2 times as likely as females to be hospitalised (513.1 and 233.2 per 100,000 population)
• hospitalisation rates were highest among people aged 15–24 (Figure 10)
• there were 104 deaths due to transport accidents in 2022–23 (11.5 per 100,000)
• males were twice as likely as females to die from a transport injury (15.0 and 8.0 per 100,000 population) (Table 2).

Figure 10: Number and crude rate of transport injury hospitalisations among First Nations people, by age and sex, Australia, 2022–23

Note: Bars are number of hospitalisations, and the line graph represents crude rates (per 100,000 persons).

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Notes:

1. Crude rates per 100,000 population.
2. Numbers and rates are reported for 5 jurisdictions combined – New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. These jurisdictions are considered to have adequate levels of Indigenous identification in mortality data.

Sources: AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

For more detail, see Transport Supplementary Data tables.

Comparison between First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians

Figure 11: Age-standardised rates of transport injury hospitalisations and deaths by Indigenous status and financial year, Australia

Notes:

1. Rates are age-standardised per 100,000 population.
2. ‘Non-Indigenous Australians’ excludes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.
3. Numbers and rates of deaths are reported for 5 jurisdictions combined – New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. These jurisdictions are considered to have adequate levels of Indigenous identification in mortality data.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database, AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

The rate of transport injury hospitalisations was highest among the 15–24 age group for both First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians (Figure 12). Deaths data are not presented due to small numbers.

Figure 12: Crude rates of transport injury hospitalisations, by Indigenous status and age group, Australia, 2023–24

Notes:

1. Rates are crude per 100,000 population.
2. ‘Non-Indigenous Australians’ excludes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.

 Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

State and territory

The states and territories with the highest rates of transport injury hospitalisation in 2023–24 were:

• Northern Territory (444.2 per 100,000)
• Queensland (299.3 per 100,000)
• Tasmania (273.8 per 100,000).

The states and territories with the highest rates of transport injury death in 2022–23 were:

• Northern Territory (13.2 per 100,000)
• Tasmania (8.2 per 100,000)
• Western Australia (7.1 per 100,000) (Figure 13).

Figure 13: Age-standardised rate of transport injury hospitalisations (2023–24) and deaths (2022–23), by state or territory of usual residence, Australia

Note:

1. State and territory refers to the state and territory of usual residence for the individual.
2. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database, AIHW National Mortality Database, and ABS National, state and territory population.

There are some differences in trends across states by type of transport involved (Figure 14). As compared to the previous 5-year average, 2023–24 saw an increased percentage of pedestrian transport injury hospitalisations across all states and territories except South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, and 2022–23 saw an increase in overall transport deaths in Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania. Victoria also saw increased pedestrian deaths as compared to the previous 5-year average.

For more information see the geography dashboard and Bureau of Infrastructure’s transport related dashboards.

Remoteness

Areas of Australia which are more remote tend to have higher rates of hospitalisation and death from transport injuries than less remote areas. 

For most types of transport, the rates of hospitalisation increased with remoteness, and was highest in Very remote regions (Figure 15). Pedal cycle-related injuries represented a notable exception, with higher rates of hospitalisation in Inner Regional areas and Major cities (49.7 and 49.6 per 100,000, respectively).

For information on how statistics are calculated by remoteness, see the technical notes.

Socioeconomic areas

Level of socioeconomic disadvantage in Australia impacts the risk of injuries. People living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas of Australia, compared to the least socioeconomically disadvantaged were:

• 1.5 times as likely to be hospitalised by a transport accident in 2023–24 (283.9 compared to 187.8 per 100,000 population)
• 2.7 times as likely to die in a transport accident in 2022–23 (7.4 compared to 2.7 per 100,000 population).

While hospitalisation rates are highest in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas for most transport types, there are some differences in trends across different types of transport (Figure 16):

• The second most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had the highest rates of animal or animal-drawn vehicle, motorcycle and special all-terrain or off-road vehicle-related hospitalisations
• The least socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had the highest rates of pedal cycle-related hospitalisations.

Data details

• Technical notes: how the data were calculated
• Glossary
  
  

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