National insurer AAMI has released a special Decade of Driving Report, as part of its Crash Index – looking back at the driving trends of the past ten years – so we can look forward to the future to see how we can improve road safety for all Australians.

Analysing more than 4.3 million motor claims across the country from 2014 – 2023, AAMI’s Decade of Driving Report aims to shine a light on the country's most dangerous crash hotspots. It features road safety experts and provides unique insights into accidents and driving behaviours and how they've changed, as well as how we can better protect all road users.

Australia’s most notorious crash hotspots

Plenty Road, Bundoora, in Melbourne’s north-east, has the dishonourable title of being Australia’s most dangerous crash hotspot of the past decade. However, other states shouldn’t be too quick to gloat, as AAMI's Decade of Driving Report identifies the following top crash hotspots around the country:

Australia’s top crash hotspots 2014 – 2023:

#1 Hotspots	Road	Location
Victoria	Plenty Road	Bundoora
New South Wales	Hume Highway	Liverpool
Queensland	Bruce Highway	Rockhampton
Western Australia	Albany Highway	Cannington
Australian Capital Territory	Canberra Avenue	Fyshwick
South Australia	Marion Road	Marion
Tasmania	Sandy Bay Road	Sandy Bay
Northern Territory	Stuart Highway	Darwin

 

Other national insights over the past decade include:

TGI Friday?: Friday was the worst day of the week for crashes (16 per cent), followed by Thursday and Wednesday. Surprisingly, the weekend (Sunday then Saturday) were the days Aussies were least likely to have an accident.  

Beware the afternoon slump: The worst time of day for a crash has not changed over the past 10 years – afternoons between 1:00pm and 4:30pm. Mornings between 9:30am and 1:00pm, followed by late afternoon from 4:30pm – 8:00pm are the other worst times to be on the road.

Keep your nose out of other people’s business: The most common collision on Aussie roads were nose to tail crashes (26 per cent). Over the past 10 years, drivers were also frequently failing to give-way (19 per cent), and accidentally damaging cars while parked (17 per cent).

Women on top: When it comes to the battle of the sexes – it seems male drivers (54 per cent) were significantly more likely than females (46 per cent) to have a crash, while older drivers aged 65+ were interestingly the most dangerous behind the wheel, with more than a quarter (26 per cent) of claims being attributed to them.

Leah James, AAMI Motor Claims Manager: said,

“While there have been many changes, and technological advances, to the types of vehicles we drive since we started the AAMI Crash Index in 1994, AAMI's Decade of Driving Report found that unfortunately we haven’t changed much about the way we drive.

"Nose to tail crashes and failing to give-way are consistently the top types of accidents, – indicating that as a nation, we have a propensity to tailgate other drivers and drive distracted.

"Since 2014, our data has shown that afternoons are prime time for collisions across the country. This coincides with school pick up – and is generally a time when the roads are busy, patience is wearing thin, drivers are tired from the day and racing to either get home or to their next destination. This is when drivers need to have their wits about them, and be vigilant behind the wheel, to avoid those bumper-to-bumper collisions or an accident involving a child.

"The number one crash hotspots in each state and territory are all notorious for accidents and share similar attributes of being busy major roads, or main thoroughfares through industrial, educational, shopping centre precincts or central business districts. In all states, except for Tasmania, the #1 hotspot has held the top position in their state for more than five of the past ten years, indicating that not only are these roads busy – but also dangerous.

"For the past three decades, the AAMI Crash Index has been educating drivers on the importance of using safe driving habits and avoiding behaviours that lead to accidents. However, we recognise that it’s not just the responsibility of those behind the wheel, which is why we have shared our crash data with Governments at all levels to help identify and plan for future road projects, as well as drive policy changes and road improvements at identified hotspots.

"In 2022, AAMI’s Crash Index data played a key role in reducing the rate of collisions at the country’s worst crash hotspot – Melbourne's Plenty Road in Bundoora. Our data helped inform a speed reduction trial which then went on to become a permanent change in 2022.

"Following the adoption of the reduced speed limit, our data showed a 26 percent reduction in the number of accidents*, demonstrating the positive impact the AAMI Crash Index has had on saving lives.

"What we hope to achieve with our AAMI Decade of Driving Report, is to bring awareness to where, when and how accidents occur, so that Aussie drivers can be better informed and educated on how to drive more safely."

The AAMI Decade of Driving Report is available here.