December 31, 2025 • 4 mins
The provisional number of road deaths in 2025 is currently 272, down from 292 in 2024.
This marks three years in a row that road deaths have seen a reduction, due in large part to Operation Open Roads.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News talksed be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Right.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Oh the We just got an email from the police
at seven o'clock this morning and they say the provisional
number of road deaths in twenty twenty five is currently
two hundred and seventy two. This is down from two
hundred and ninety two in twenty twenty four. So this
marks three years in a row that road deaths have
seen a reduction, due in part to the operation Open Roads.
(00:40):
But after what seemed to be a positive start to
the Christmas road toll, we now stand at five deaths.
It was four, but just a short time ago it
became five. Last year the holiday road toll hit fifteen
by the time it ended on January the fifth. Touch wood.
It looks like this yet may still be better. But
to talk about the road tolls is a man who
has to worry about this. The National Road Policing Manager
(01:02):
Steve Greeley, and Steve joins you now, hell is Steve here.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Hi, I'm a happy new year.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Thank you so much to hundred and seventy two. Should
we be pleased or that's still two hundred and seventy
two souls lost.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh yeah, look, both of those are absolutely correct. When
you think about two than seventy two deaths last year,
and that's twenty down from the year before, which is
about fifty down from the year before. We are seeing
a start of a very nice trend. But as you
rightly said, one death has start too many.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
What does operation open Roads?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, that's about targeting the risk where it happens. The most.
Seventy three percent of our death happened on the open road,
the high risk network, So those higher speeds of greater trauma.
You would have heard the NDED Transport Agency talk about
that the greater the speed, the greater the mess. It
makes sense that actually most of our deployment happens in
those areas to prevent that trauma rather than staying in
(01:55):
the urban areas where the trauma is so much lower.
Can we get better, Yeah, we can get better. It's
a system's approach. Really, when we think about the safe
system that's unemployed by countries that do really well in
terms of low road trauma, such as Scandinavian countries like
Sweden and Norway, just as an examples. Even now, the Australians.
(02:17):
So you think about the Australians are at four deaths
per hundred thousand population per year up until recently the
last few years ago, about three years ago we're at
seven point eight, so quite a distance behind. The reason
that countries do better is they employ the safe system
very well, and we do it in part. We've got
a little bit to go in terms of that space.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Now we have a government that has made speed limits political.
They want us to travel faster on our roads. They're
lifting the limits on many roads that had lower limits.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Does this worry you, Oh, look whenever our motorist goes
fast on a road and worry this of course because
our front line are the ones that see the trauma.
They're the ones that see the result of those high
speed crashes. But end of the day, what we are celebrating,
of course is TERMAMS two last year, which is a
(03:10):
welcome relief for our front line because, as you can imagine,
that's less scenes that they're going to and it's also
less families that they're having to notify that a loved
one has been lost.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
We know the cars have got safer and that's keeping
more people alive. But looking at our roads. Our road
is just not good enough, and so there is a
limit to the speed limits we can have.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
O looked globally, there's always a limit to the speed
limits you can have and it is basically undetermined by infrastructure.
Obviously that's not a matter for police. But the end
of the day, I know the new Zoant Transport Agency
is doing everything it can to make our roads as
safe as they possibly can be.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Okay, what's your prediction for this holiday period?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, we're as I just heard in your intro, we're
at five deaths so far. We had fifteen last year.
It's very hard to predict, but traditionally over this period
is quite high because as you can imagine, a lot
of alcohol, lot of intoxication around the country, which, when
you put that was driving, the recipe is a really,
(04:15):
really terrible one. So look, I'm really hoping for the best,
and I know that our people, our front line, will
be out there doing the best they can to hold
rescue drivers to account and keep everybody as safe as possible.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Steve, keep doing good jobs. Thank you so much for
your time today. Steve Greeley, who is the National road
Plicing Boss.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
For more from News Talks b Listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News talksed be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Right.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Oh the We just got an email from the police
at seven o'clock this morning and they say the provisional
number of road deaths in twenty twenty five is currently
two hundred and seventy two. This is down from two
hundred and ninety two in twenty twenty four. So this
marks three years in a row that road deaths have
seen a reduction, due in part to the operation Open Roads.
(00:40):
But after what seemed to be a positive start to
the Christmas road toll, we now stand at five deaths.
It was four, but just a short time ago it
became five. Last year the holiday road toll hit fifteen
by the time it ended on January the fifth. Touch wood.
It looks like this yet may still be better. But
to talk about the road tolls is a man who
has to worry about this. The National Road Policing Manager
(01:02):
Steve Greeley, and Steve joins you now, hell is Steve here.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Hi, I'm a happy new year.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Thank you so much to hundred and seventy two. Should
we be pleased or that's still two hundred and seventy
two souls lost.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh yeah, look, both of those are absolutely correct. When
you think about two than seventy two deaths last year,
and that's twenty down from the year before, which is
about fifty down from the year before. We are seeing
a start of a very nice trend. But as you
rightly said, one death has start too many.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
What does operation open Roads?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, that's about targeting the risk where it happens. The most.
Seventy three percent of our death happened on the open road,
the high risk network, So those higher speeds of greater trauma.
You would have heard the NDED Transport Agency talk about
that the greater the speed, the greater the mess. It
makes sense that actually most of our deployment happens in
those areas to prevent that trauma rather than staying in
(01:55):
the urban areas where the trauma is so much lower.
Can we get better, Yeah, we can get better. It's
a system's approach. Really, when we think about the safe
system that's unemployed by countries that do really well in
terms of low road trauma, such as Scandinavian countries like
Sweden and Norway, just as an examples. Even now, the Australians.
(02:17):
So you think about the Australians are at four deaths
per hundred thousand population per year up until recently the
last few years ago, about three years ago we're at
seven point eight, so quite a distance behind. The reason
that countries do better is they employ the safe system
very well, and we do it in part. We've got
a little bit to go in terms of that space.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Now we have a government that has made speed limits political.
They want us to travel faster on our roads. They're
lifting the limits on many roads that had lower limits.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Does this worry you, Oh, look whenever our motorist goes
fast on a road and worry this of course because
our front line are the ones that see the trauma.
They're the ones that see the result of those high
speed crashes. But end of the day, what we are celebrating,
of course is TERMAMS two last year, which is a
(03:10):
welcome relief for our front line because, as you can imagine,
that's less scenes that they're going to and it's also
less families that they're having to notify that a loved
one has been lost.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
We know the cars have got safer and that's keeping
more people alive. But looking at our roads. Our road
is just not good enough, and so there is a
limit to the speed limits we can have.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
O looked globally, there's always a limit to the speed
limits you can have and it is basically undetermined by infrastructure.
Obviously that's not a matter for police. But the end
of the day, I know the new Zoant Transport Agency
is doing everything it can to make our roads as
safe as they possibly can be.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Okay, what's your prediction for this holiday period?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, we're as I just heard in your intro, we're
at five deaths so far. We had fifteen last year.
It's very hard to predict, but traditionally over this period
is quite high because as you can imagine, a lot
of alcohol, lot of intoxication around the country, which, when
you put that was driving, the recipe is a really,
(04:15):
really terrible one. So look, I'm really hoping for the best,
and I know that our people, our front line, will
be out there doing the best they can to hold
rescue drivers to account and keep everybody as safe as possible.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Steve, keep doing good jobs. Thank you so much for
your time today. Steve Greeley, who is the National road
Plicing Boss.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
For more from News Talks b Listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcast on iHeartRadio
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