Data from Roads Australia’s Showcasing Safe Movement & Place report has revealed that road fatalities have increased over the past five years instead of declining, putting Australia significantly behind its target to halve road deaths by 2030 from 2018-2020 levels.

The report shows road fatalities are not confined to regional highways and freeways – with roughly one in four road deaths occurring on local streets.

Data from the report also found that in Australia’s cities, 40 per cent of fatalities happen on high-capacity urban roads.

In 2025 alone, fatalities on roads with a 50 kilometres per hour speed limit surged by almost 20 per cent, with 23 more people killed in the 12 months leading to last December.

Vulnerable road users continue to be disproportionately affected, with a 13 per cent increase in pedestrian road deaths in 2025, compared to 2024 and a 32 per cent increase in cyclist deaths.

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“This is a critical moment to ask how safe our urban roads really are, and if we’re doing enough to make them safer,” said Ehssan Veiszadeh, Roads Australia CEO.

“At 50 kilometres per hour, a pedestrian struck by a vehicle has around a 90 per cent chance of death. At 40 kilometers per hour, the risk drops to approximately 40 per cent, and at 30 kilometres per hour, to just 10 per cent.”

To address the rising road toll in urban areas, Roads Australia is urging governments to review these trends and provide councils with the funding and expertise needed to implement street safety measures.

The Showcasing Safe Movement & Place report outlines solutions to make residential streets, high streets, town and city centres and shared streets safer – with the safety and movement of people on foot the priority.

“These are practical, evidence-based solutions that work,” Veiszadeh said.

“If we are serious about meeting our 2030 road safety targets, we need to prioritise safer speeds and make our streets safer for everyone.”