Updated ,first published
Western Australia is on track to record more than 200 deaths on the state’s roads in an entire 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 on Sunday morning, crashing into a tree.
And The 19-year-old faced court in Geraldton on Fridaycharged with murder due to a fatal accident that claimed the life of a 29-year-old woman last week.
Rhys Heron, head of communications at insurer RAC, said road deaths in WA had been at “crisis levels” for years.
“If we continue the way we’re going, we could see over 200 people killed on our roads for the first time in 18 years,” Heron said.
“We need to end the complacency that has caused road deaths to start rising again – every life lost is an unacceptable, preventable tragedy.”
Last year, 184 people died on WA’s roads, which would follow on to 188 in 2024. Heron said WA was a national leader in road safety but “over the last two decades, under successive governments, we have consistently been one of the worst”.
“WA’s current death toll per capita is 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 have been left to deal with the consequences.
“It is important that road users slow down, leave barriers and focus on safe arrival.”
A spokesperson for the WA Road Safety Commission said the issue was complex, challenging, ever-changing, “and required a united, community-driven approach to reduce fatalities”.
“Any death on WA roads is unacceptable,” they said.
“The bottom line is that WA drivers need to take more responsibility for their actions and plan ahead for any journey to make every journey a safe one.”
While the number of people on the road has increased in 2026, the situation is still very different from the 1970s, when annual deaths were more than 300 per year.
The Government is committing millions of dollars in regional speed cameras to be phased in over the coming years, as well as investment in school zone speed enforcement and a plan to double the number of safety camera trailers on WA roads.
Heron said the RAC welcomed the government’s investment in road safety campaigns, enforcement and infrastructure, but more was needed for WA to return to meeting the goals of national and national road safety strategies.
“This includes securing Commonwealth funding for the full delivery of the Provincial Road Safety Initiative on local roads,” Heron said.
“We also need to see more focus on Perth’s junctions, where one in two major crashes occur, and funding given to local authorities and communities to support safer speeds.
“At a time when the Road Trust Account is receiving record levels of revenue, it is concerning that road deaths continue to rise.”
Minister for Road Safety and Policing Reece Whitby recently revealed that new AI cameras he had noticed some “strange things … behind the wheel”, including a man reading a book and a woman breastfeeding a baby.
“That’s crazy,” Whitby said at the time.
“Who would do that? After all the publicity about the fines and the losses, after the warnings, this is still happening.”
Whitby addressed comments from the RAC at a press conference on Wednesday morning, revealing that WA had the highest death rate per 100,000 people of all states, possibly due to the size of the state.
“We have a large geographical area, there are many countries to drive, but there is no excuse,” he said.
“One death (death) is too high. The death rate per 100,000 in Western Australia has decreased since 2007. It was more than 11 per 100,000 now it is six, but that is no reason to rest.
“We’re seeing that actual number increase as the population grows, and we have a strong economy, which puts more traffic on the road. We need to do more.”
Whitby said he was looking at new arrangements “where we can be more flexible with our fines”.
“So we go hard on those people who are doing the wrong thing and give a break to the people who are doing the right thing,” he said.
“The question for the drivers is that you have to be responsible. We have safe roads and safe cars… but we still see one car accidents, we still see one car leaving the road and hitting a tree. What is going on there?
“We will continue to do everything we can, and I believe we need a stricter and stricter approach to road faulting, and I’m ready to do that, but I also want the drivers to do the right thing.”
Holly Thompson is a WAtoday journalist, specializing in education and the environment.Connect through X or email address.
