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Last year 87 people were killed and 779 were seriously injured on SA roads – a small reduction on the 89 deaths and 949 serious injuries in 2024.
Nationally, 1,353 people lost their lives on Australian roads in 2025 – the worst year since 2010.
RAA’s 2025 analysis comes amid a horrific start to 2026 in SA, with 10 lives already lost on SA roads so far in January.
Of the 30 people who died in metropolitan Adelaide in 2025, 14 were pedestrians (47%). Overall, 17 pedestrians lost their lives in 2025 – a 41% increase compared to the previous five-year average.
To meet the targets set out in the state’s Road Safety Strategy, South Australia would have needed to achieve 75 lives lost and 614 serious injuries.
South Australia’s 10-year Road Safety Strategy to 2031 set a target of at least a 50% reduction in lives lost and at least a 30% reduction in serious injuries on our roads by the end of 2031.
The mid-term trend also indicates that the number of serious injuries being sustained on SA roads are not reducing over the medium-long term – with 779 in 2025. This is higher than the previous five-year average (2015-2019) of 596.
RAA Senior Manager Road Safety Charles Mountain said nationally, road deaths had increased for the fifth consecutive year – the first time this has occurred since the early 1950s.
“Eighty-seven lives lost is slightly fewer than previous years, but it’s not a number we should ever be comfortable with,” Mr Mountain said.
“The increasing number of road deaths and serious injuries is a national problem, and we need to be doing all we can as road users and authorities to improve these outcomes.
“As we start the year, we’re urging drivers to take personal responsibility for their actions behind the wheel, so we can try and reduce the number of crashes on SA roads.
“Most fatal crashes continue to involve the same high-risk behaviours, speeding, distraction, fatigue, drink and drug driving, and not wearing a seatbelt.
“With nearly half of all lives lost on metro roads are pedestrians, we’re urging drivers to look out for vulnerable road users, and reminding pedestrians to stay alert whenever they’re around the road.
“Meanwhile, regionally, around 70% of lives were lost in single vehicle crashes which often involve a vehicle rolling over or running of the road into a fixed object such as a tree.
“The ongoing rate of serious injuries is also concerning, because behind every statistic is someone whose life has been permanently altered.
“If we want to meet our 2031 road safety targets, drivers must slow down, stay alert and treat the road with the respect it deserves.
“RAA will continue to advocate for infrastructure improvements that will benefit safety, and educate drivers of all ages, empowering them to make safer decisions.”
Collisions with fixed objects were the most common crash type overall in 2025, accounting for 30% of all lives lost. Of these crashes, four in five involved a tree.
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