ANCAP calls for broader vehicle safety focus after road safety review

Review highlights different vehicle risks

ANCAP has called for Australia’s vehicle safety efforts to extend further beyond passenger cars after the release of the mid-term review of the National Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030. The review recognised improvements in the safety performance of the light vehicle fleet, but ANCAP drew attention to much larger increases in fatalities involving other vehicle types. The Australasian Fleet Management Association (AfMA) reports that the independent review was released on 17 September. ²³

During the period examined by the review, fatalities in crashes involving light commercial vehicles increased by an average of 12.1 per cent. Fatalities involving heavy vehicles rose 7.2 per cent, while motorcycle-related fatalities increased 28.3 per cent against the baseline period. The comparable increase for fatalities involving passenger cars was 0.3 per cent. These figures concern deaths in crashes involving each vehicle type; they do not identify the occupants of those vehicles as the people who died. ²³

ANCAP urges a broader safety focus

ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg said the findings support a wider focus that includes commercial vans, light and heavy trucks, and motorcycles. ANCAP attributes part of the improvement in light vehicle safety to its encouragement of crash protection and crash prevention features. That is ANCAP’s assessment of its contribution, not a finding that its programs alone produced the change. ²

Hoorweg also argued that independent vehicle assessments can encourage manufacturers to introduce safety technology before regulation requires it. ANCAP describes its testing and consumer information as complementary to government regulation, saying assessments can identify safety deficiencies and encourage improvements beyond minimum requirements. It has called for continued Australian Government support for that work through the remainder of the strategy’s term and beyond. ²

The light commercial category also accounts for a substantial share of vehicle sales: AutoTalk Australia reported that it represented 17.9 per cent of new vehicle sales in August. That sales figure provides market context for ANCAP’s call, but it does not explain the increase in fatalities. ¹

Progress against national targets

The National Road Safety Data Hub describes the strategy’s goal as a 50 per cent reduction in road deaths by 2030, with zero deaths by 2050. AfMA reports that the mid-term review found further action was needed to make progress towards the 2030 target, despite government investment that has contributed to improvements in road and vehicle safety, data collection and the adoption of the Safe System approach. ⁵³

The Australian Automobile Association’s figures cited by AfMA put the toll at 1,325 deaths in the 12 months to the end of June 2026. AutoTalk Australia subsequently reported the association’s figure of 1,313 deaths in the year to 31 August. AutoTalk said that was the first fall against the previous corresponding period in 39 months, although the August figure remained 19.7 per cent above the level in January 2021, when the strategy was adopted. The June and August totals cover different rolling 12-month periods. ¹³

More detailed crash data sought

ANCAP supports the review’s call for stronger use of data in setting national priorities, directing investment and monitoring performance. Hoorweg said crash and vehicle information already collected around Australia should be brought together more consistently and made nationally accessible. She specifically sought details of crash scenarios to help assess real-world vehicle performance and identify emerging risks. ²

National reporting tools already cover some measures: the government’s National Crash Dashboard presents annual road-death data from 2008 as reported by state and territory transport authorities, and its National Road Safety Tracker covers strategic targets. AutoTalk Australia reported the AAA’s assessment that only four of the strategy’s 23 performance indicators could be tracked beyond 2024. ANCAP’s request is for more consistent and detailed information, rather than simply another national death total. ⁴⁵¹

Review to inform the next action plan

AfMA reports that the review also identified more timely performance monitoring, greater consistency and knowledge sharing between jurisdictions, attention to e-mobility devices, and a continued focus on rural, regional and remote road safety. The Australian Government is working with state and territory governments on the next National Road Safety Action Plan, with the review intended to inform priorities for the remainder of the decade. ³

According to AfMA, the Federal Government has committed funding in the 2026–27 Budget for national research into the factors behind road trauma. Three university-based road safety research organisations will be invited to propose work examining the incidence, crash types and causes of fatalities. That proposed research is separate from ANCAP’s vehicle assessments and addresses the review’s wider call for better evidence. ³