Going for an afternoon walk the other day with my wife and our hound, a motorcycle roared up our quiet suburban street.

About three seconds later there was the sound of metal on bitumen.

We quickly turned around to find the bike in a state of disrepair and the young, male rider on the nature strip in a poor way.

Car accidents are killing an increasing number of people, at a terrible human and financial cost.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Calls were made to emergency services, which quickly arrived. A number of our neighbours gathered around the accident scene, reassuring the chap that he was OK and watching for any other traffic.

But the accident on a quiet Sunday afternoon, was a reminder for me of the human and financial tragedy that is playing out on the nation’s roads. It gave me a flashback to the first time I saw a person die – a middle-aged farmer pulled from his crashed car on a dirt road.

And that led me to look at the terrible story that is the current road toll.

In the 12 months to the end of October, 1361 people died on the nation’s roads. Compared to the same period last year, it was an increase of 88 or almost 7 per cent.

In calendar year terms, unless something extraordinary happens through November and December (traditionally the worst months for road trauma), 2025 will have the highest road toll since 2009.

There are a lot more people and vehicles on our roads since 2009. But the road fatality rate – which is based on our population – has been climbing since hitting a 75-year low in 2020. It’s now........

© The Sydney Morning Herald