Australia’s worst roads have been revealed

Australian insurer AAMI has revealed its annual list of each state's worst crash hotspots. 

The AAMI Crash Index analyses over 350,000 motor insurance claims to expose trends in accidents and common collision hotspots. The data collected from Suncorp Group’s network of insurance companies (like AAMI, GIO, and Bingle) is analysed to highlight road improvements and determine if and where speed limits need to be reduced.

Fridays were the worst day of the week for collisions across the country. Afternoons were also the most common time, with almost a third of accidents occurring in the afternoon between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Female drivers (46%) were less likely to get into an accident compared to their male (54%) counterparts.

In Tasmania and the Northern Territory, accidental damage when parked and collisions with animals were the most common types of crashes, while for every other major city, nose-to-tail collisions took the cake.

“Bumper-to-bumper collisions often happen during peak hour traffic when the roads are busy, patience is wearing thin, drivers are tired from the day, and are in a rush to get to their destination,” said Tammy Hall, AAMI’s head of motor customer engagement.

She recommends leaving extra space in front of you, or at least 3 seconds behind. This allows enough time to react and respond to a collision, potentially avoiding a crash altogether.

The hotspots that are most prone to collisions are typically major roads that intersect with local streets, or precincts with high traffic, educational centres, and shopping malls.

For the sixth year in a row,  Plenty Road in Melbourne's northeast takes the top spot for Australia's most dangerous road. 

“Analysis of our crash data on the country’s most dangerous crash site, Melbourne’s Plenty Road, Bundoora, revealed fewer crashes compared to 2022. This was in line with a 26 per cent reduction of motor accident claims from 2019 (prior to a 10-kilometre speed reduction and COVID-19 lockdowns when many cars were off the roads) to 2023 (once the permanent speed reduction was in place),” Ms Hall said. 

The Liverpool stretch of the Hume Highway was crowned (for the sixth year in a row) Sydney’s most dangerous road. The nearby shopping centre and hospital bring in lots of traffic, making it a notorious road Sydneysiders know all too well. 

Another infamous hotspot for accidents is Canberra’s Monaro Highway, which will see additional safety works implemented at the end of this year to help keep the road safer for everyone. 

Gympie Road in Chermside holds onto Brisbane’s top spot for another year. The key route to and from the northern suburbs is notorious for its peak-hour traffic. 

Adelaide, Canberra, Tasmania and the Northern Territory all welcomed new number-one hotspots in 2023, while Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney’s number-one hotspots retained their top position for another year.

^{Australia's top crash hotspots. Image: Suncorp Group Australia}

AAMI recently released Driver Rewards, a feature in its mobile app to help promote safer driving. The feature uses mobile sensors and AI to monitor users’ driving behaviour, establishing areas for improvement and celebrating positive habits. 

Since the app’s launch, 70,000 customers have registered. In the first 30 days of use, the app showed that users maintained or improved their score in speeding (60%), hard braking (52%), phone distraction (55%), and acceleration (53%). 

Most risks on the road can be mitigated by always paying attention, and ensuring you’re doing your part to keep Australia’s roads safe. This might mean brushing up on your driving safety skills and understanding or avoiding which areas of your city are the most prone to collisions.