Road safety campaign launch amid ‘worst toll in decade’
The Australian Road Safety Foundation is throwing the book at a new campaign being launched in Brisbane as one local woman shares the loss of two of her closest people in road accidents.
Today, the Australian Road Safety Foundation will launch its 2026 Fatality Free Friday campaign in Brisbane as Australia records its worst road toll in more than a decade.
In 2025, 1,314 lives were lost on the roads in Australia – a 1.7 per cent increase on the year before – and 307 in Queensland.
So far this year, the number is already up to 104 in Queensland.
ARSF’s Fatality Free Friday campaign will launch today at South Bank’s State Library with a powerful installation featuring 1,314 books – one for each person killed on roads last year.
The books’ empty pages symbolise the lives cut short while a handful of dedicated storybooks will tribute the road trauma victims whose families are attending in support of the initiative.
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At the launch, Raina Collett, who lost her father in a motorcycle crash as a child and her best friend in a separate road incident, will share her story and the last impact of road trauma on young people and families.
“Losing my dad and later Olivia (my best friend) showed me how quickly everything can change on the road. It’s not just something that happens in a moment – it’s something that lives with you forever. The loss is life-altering,” Collett said.
“Every time I leave my driveway, I think about the people I love and the people who are waiting for me to come home. You don’t just risk your own life when you take chances on the road – you risk the lives of others, and you risk your own future.”
ARSF founder and chair Russell White said these findings unveiled a troubling contradiction between behaviour and attitude that should serve as a focus for rewriting our approach to road safety.
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“Alongside the dangerous behavioural data, our research shows that nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of Australian drivers believe that they’re making safe choices on the road, and it’s that gap between belief and behaviour where lives are lost,” White said.
He adds that the research also demonstrates a powerful opportunity for Australians to strive for a fatality-free future.
“The encouraging news is that almost all of us (97 per cent) believe road deaths are preventable if people make safer choices,” White said. “That tells us the willingness is there for us to unite and create meaningful impact.”
According to the data, 61 percent of deaths occurred during the day, 19 per cent in 60km/h or lower speed zones, and only 44 per cent were drivers, with motorcyclists, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists making up 56 per cent of fatalities.
While 71 percent of drivers admitted to breaking at least one road law and 53 percent to taking risks or breaking laws on a daily basis.
And another 49 percent of drivers admitting to speeding, 30 percent to driving while fatigued, and 26 percent distracted by a mobile phone behind the wheel.
“When Australians hear a real story of road trauma, it cuts through. It reminds us that every journey is part of someone’s story – and that a single decision can close a chapter forever,” Russell White said.
The launch, delivered by ARSF and long-term partner AAMI, signals the start of a nationwide call to action, encouraging Australians to commit to safer choices on the road.
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