Latest news with #fatalaccidents
ABC News
20-07-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
Queensland road toll climbs to 158 after 10 people killed in horror weekend
Ten people have died in five fatal road crashes across Queensland since Friday night, prompting a warning from the state's peak motoring body of a worsening road toll. The recent tragedies take Queensland's road toll to 158 so far this year, with fears 2025 could end up surpassing last year's total of 302, which was the highest in 15 years. Three of the five fatal crashes over the weekend were in central Queensland. On Sunday morning, emergency services were called to the Capricorn Highway, between Comet and Blackwater, in the Central Highlands, as two vehicles had crashed and caught fire. Four people died at the scene and two men in their 20s are in a serious condition in Brisbane and Emerald hospitals. In the Mackay region, three teenagers died after a head-on collision on the Mackay Ring Road in Glenella on Friday night. The driver, aged 29, was taken to Mackay Base Hospital in a serious condition. On Saturday morning, a 45-year-old motorcyclist died after he crashed into a ute and trailer stopped in front of him at Mount Pleasant, in Mackay. Further south, an 18-year-old Kingaroy man died in Hivesville, in the South Burnett region, on Sunday morning when he was struck by a vehicle while lying on the road, police say. On Friday night, emergency services were called to Tamborine, in the Scenic Rim, to reports a man had fallen out of a car. A 26-year-old man sustained critical injuries and died at the scene. There have been 158 fatalities from Queensland road crashes so far this year. Michael Kane, head of public policy for Queensland's peak motoring body RACQ, said the latest tragedies meant the state was heading towards equalling or exceeding last year's road toll. There were 302 road crash fatalities in 2024 in Queensland — the highest in 15 years. "So many lives have been lost and so many other lives have been terribly impacted," Dr Kane said. Dr Kane said the growing road toll showed we had a lot of work to do as a community to turn it around. "There is no reason why we should accept a worsening road toll for a number of years; it was getting better," he said. Dr Kane said while there was a need for safer roads and better maintenance, particularly in regional areas, there also needed to be a focus on safer road culture. "We are driving at high speeds, we think our cars are cocoons, but if we crash at a high speed or if we're doing the wrong thing in the way we drive, we can change and lose our life… or cause the loss of life of someone else as a random person or someone we love," he said. RACQ is also calling for better traffic policing, following survey results which showed the public thought there wasn't enough police presence on the roads. Dr Kane said there had been a decline in the statistics of random roadside breath and drug testing since 2023. "We have seen in the last 12 months that start to change and the Queensland government has had a focus on getting more police into the police force and getting more random breath and drug tests, but that needs to step up," he said. "But these changes can't be made overnight."
Auto Blog
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
America's Deadliest Roads Aren't Where Most Drivers Think
By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. The overlooked risk in collision data reporting Allstate recently released an updated report highlighting where America's best and worst drivers are by number of collisions using data related to claims in the U.S.'s 200 most-populated cities. The study displays some interesting trends, but these reports can cause drivers to overlook the dangers of rural roads. Statistics suggest that drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents on rural roads than their urban counterparts. In 2023, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) published a report noting that although 20% of U.S. residents live in rural areas and 31% of miles traveled occur in these regions, 41% of crash deaths occur there. Rural counties contain a greater share of land area, with more miles of roads, increasing the opportunities for accidents. Emergency responses can also be longer in rural areas. In 2022, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 1.5 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Previous Pause Next Unmute 0:00 / 0:10 Full screen The top 10 best value used cars in 2025 Watch More A vehicle stationary on a rural roadside — Source: Getty Still curious to see which U.S. cities have the highest collision risks? Allstate ranked Boston, Massachusetts, as the city where drivers are most likely to experience a collision, followed by Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, Worcester, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, Glendale, California, Los Angeles, California, Oakland, California, Providence, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While a handful of West Coast cities made this top 10 list, seven out of 10 were located in the Northeast. Brownsville, Texas, was rated as the safest place to drive, but this wasn't the only city in the Lone Star State with a favorable grade. Texas cities Laredo, McAllen, and Corpus Christi also made the top 20. Allstate has been conducting this study annually since 2005, and in the past decade, Texas cities like Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, and Dallas have advanced toward safety. Drivers in Pacific Northwest regions such as Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have seen some of the most significant collision reductions nationwide over the past 10 years. More specifically, Bellevue, Washington, has experienced the most improvement, moving up 133 spots since 2015. Other noteworthy cities include Anchorage, Alaska, and Portland, Oregon. Boston drivers in a school zone — Source: Getty Several Midwestern cities have fallen in Allstate's list over the past decade. St. Louis, Missouri, declined the most, dropping 90 spots to 175, while Des Moines, Iowa, fell 89 places to 108, and Kansas City, Missouri, moved back 84 spots to 101. Other Midwestern cities mirroring this trend are Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Omaha, Nebraska, and Indianapolis, Indiana. There's a long way between Boston, Massachusetts's spot at 200 and first place with Brownsville, Texas, and this gap is widening, with 75 of the riskiest cities recording a 25% increase in crash rates since 2015. In Boston, drivers are nearly three and a half times more likely to be involved in a collision than the national average. Final thoughts City crash data often grabs headlines, as more people live in urban areas than in rural ones, but this reporting can overshadow the risks associated with the latter. In addition to longer stretches of roadway and slower emergency response times, rural areas have drivers traveling at higher average speeds, and these motorists are less likely to wear seatbelts, according to FinanceBuzz. Single-vehicle crashes are also more common in rural regions, which can involve running off the road or rolling over, increasing fatality risks. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. About the Author Cody Carlson View Profile
