The times, locations, and circumstances in which Australians are most likely to crash have been revealed, and the results may not be what you expect.
Australian insurance provider AAMI has released the latest edition of its annual Crash Index, which includes a Decade of Driving Report which analyses the firm’s motor claims over the past 10 years to examine crash statistics and form suggestions to improve road safety.
The report includes the most crash-prone roads in Australia, with Plenty Road in the Victorian suburb of Bundoora topping the list. We reported on Australia’s most dangerous roads earlier this week, which includes the top 10 most dangerous roads in each state and territory.
A key part of the report is the most common types of crashes to occur and when they happen, with Friday revealed as the day when most crashes occur.
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The report revealed Friday was the worst day for crashes with 28 per cent of claims coming at the end of the working week, followed by Thursday and Wednesday.
Surprisingly, the weekend days were the least crash-prone, with Sunday slightly better than Saturday.
Afternoons, specifically between 1pm and 4:30pm, are the worst time of day for a crash, followed by 9:30am to 1pm and 4:30pm to 8pm.
Interestingly, afternoons are the most dangerous time in every state and territory except the Northern Territory, where mornings are most dangerous.
AAMI motor claims manager, Leah James, said the statistics coincide with stressful times of day where people may lack patience.
“[The results] coincide 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,” she said.
“This is when drivers need to have their wits about them, and be vigilant behind the wheel, to avoid … collisions or an accident involving a child.”
Nose-to-tail accidents turned out to be the most common type of collision in Australia, accounting for 26 per cent of claims.
It was found 19 per cent of claims involved drivers failing to give way, while 17 per cent involved accidentally damaging cars while parked.
The types of crashes revealed the largest disparity between states and territories.
In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia, nose-to-tail accidents were the most common.
Results differ in the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Tasmania, where the most common type of collision was with stationary objects, which could include trees, barriers, and poles.
Failing to give way was the second-most common type of collision in both New South Wales and Victoria.
It was also found males are more likely to have an accident than females, with a 54 to 46 per cent skew nationwide.
Drivers aged 65 and over were also deemed the most dangerous behind the wheel, with 26 per cent of claims across Australia being attributed to them.
That statistic was the same in every state and territory, except the ACT and Northern Territory. In those places, people aged 35 to 44 were more likely to have a crash and were attributed to 23 per cent and 26 per cent of claims respectively.
Animal collisions are recorded as well, including the top 10 animal collision hotspots over the past 10 years. On top of the list was Canberra, followed by Goulburn (NSW), Heathcote (VIC), Dubbo (NSW), Cooma (NSW), Jindabyne (NSW), Charters Towers (QLD), Gisborne (VIC), Broken Hill (NSW), and Mudgee (NSW).
The top 10 most common animals were listed as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, dogs, deer, cows, emus, pigs, foxes, and rabbits.
Here’s a breakdown of each state’s statistics, sourced from AAMI’s Crash Index: