We have just endured another year of rising road fatalities. NSW recorded its deadliest year since 2017, with 355 lives lost in 2025 – up sharply from 2021’s low of 265. Some claim population growth explains the increase, but even per capita figures tell a grim story: the road death rate has risen from 3.3 per 100,000 people in 2021 to 4.2 today.

Debris is scattered over the road after a car crash. Credit: Edwina Pickles

Government responses have been predictable and unconvincing. Statements such as, “The Minns government has invested $2.8 billion in road safety initiatives and will consult the community on its next five-year Road Safety Action Plan”, offer little comfort to grieving families. Whatever these initiatives are, they are clearly not working. Nor do we need yet another Yes Minister-style “action plan”.

Road safety experts have advised for decades what works, chiefly much stronger speed enforcement. What’s missing is political leadership.

NSW Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said the 355 deaths should “stop everyone in their tracks”, urging people not to drive distracted or impaired and to slow down. Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray echoed this, pointing to infrastructure, enforcement and education, but ultimately concluding that change depends on “personal responsibility” from........

© The Sydney Morning Herald