South Australia recorded 84 road deaths in the first nine months of 2026, exceeding the state’s full-year Road Safety Strategy target of no more than 70 fatalities, according to the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA).
The organisation’s quarterly crash data analysis, released in October, also shows 681 serious injuries in the same period, above the strategy’s annual ceiling of 591. As of late October, the state’s death toll had climbed to 88.
The Australian Automobile Association’s (AAA) latest benchmarking of the National Road Safety Strategy shows SA recorded a 27.4% increase in road deaths for the 12 months to June 2026, with 23 more lives lost than the previous 12-month period. Nationally, 1,325 people died on Australian roads in the same period, and the rolling 12-month toll has now risen for 37 consecutive months.
Read more: SA road deaths mount as severity outpaces crash frequency
RAA’s January to September 2026 data shows a deterioration in outcomes for cyclists and motorcyclists.
Eight cyclist deaths in the period equal the highest annual total since at least 1995 and sit 60% above the five-year average for a full year. Motorcyclist fatalities reached 15 by the end of September, with two more in early October, already exceeding the full-year five-year average.
Metropolitan Adelaide recorded 33 fatalities to the end of September, 39% above the five-year average. The Sturt Highway recorded the most deaths of any SA road this year at six, followed by the Augusta Highway and Warren Road, Birdwood, with four each.
RAA senior manager safety and infrastructure Charles Mountain said the toll had outpaced the state’s own benchmarks. “Behind every one of these crashes is a family, a group of friends and a community changed forever. With more than two months of the year still to go, we’ve already passed the maximum lives lost and serious injuries needed to stay on track with the State’s road safety strategy in 2026,” Mountain said.
He added that cyclists and motorcyclists remain overrepresented in the data. “They have very little protection in a crash, so we’re urging everyone to ride safe and look out for each other on the road,” Mountain said.
SA’s CTP scheme is underwritten by five government-approved private insurers: AAMI, Allianz, NRMA, QBE, and Youi. The CTP Insurance Regulator’s 2024-25 annual report shows NRMA holds 29% of in-force premium, followed by AAMI at 27%, QBE at 23%, Allianz at 15%, and Youi at 6%.
The same report records $202.2 million in closed claims payments over the two years to June 30, 2025, across 2,294 closed claims. Economic loss accounted for 47.9% of that total, with treatment costs at 14.1% and care at 11.1%. Bicyclists account for 7% of all CTP claims lodged since the scheme began in 2016. With cyclist deaths in 2026 already at record levels, that share could shift.
The regulator conducted its first mid-year premium review during the 2023-24 period, adjusting premium bands outside the normal annual cycle. The Class 1 weighted average annual premium sat at $260.71 in 2024-25, down from $411.25 in 2018-19. Whether current premium settings reflect the 2026 severity spike is a question brokers managing motor renewals will want to watch.
At a national level, the Insurance Council of Australia’s (ICA) motor insurance roadmap, released in March 2025, found average claims costs rose 42% from 2019 to 2024, with repair costs up 26% since 2022.
ICA CEO Andrew Hall said the figures reflected pressures beyond the industry’s direct control. “A 42 per cent increase in premiums over five years reflects the costs that insurers are managing,” Hall said.
Read more: Dual road toll spike puts SA CTP scheme under pressure
The concentration of fatalities on key freight routes is a practical concern for brokers advising commercial fleet clients. The Sturt and Augusta Highways are major freight and tourism corridors, and both recorded the highest death counts of any SA roads in 2026.
RAA has renewed calls for the South Australian government to duplicate both highways, arguing the projects would separate opposing traffic and provide safer overtaking opportunities. “These highways are vital freight and tourism links, and we’ve seen too many lives lost on them this year,” Mountain said.
Jerome Carslake, director of Monash University’s National Road Safety Partnership Program, has previously noted the scale of the commercial driving risk. “Driving for work is the most dangerous work-related activity, the data is clear for that,” Carslake said.
Simon Donovan, executive general manager of underwriting at DKG Insurance Group, has observed that repeat-accident drivers within fleets are not always flagged by brokers, suggesting an advisory gap that a worsening road toll makes more pressing.
Mountain urged all road users to be mindful of what RAA terms the “Fatal 5” contributing factors: distraction, speeding, failure to wear seatbelts, drugs or alcohol, and dangerous behaviour.
