What’s behind WA’s tragic increase in road fatalities?

Watch this podcast interview on YouTube where we sit down with Professor Teresa Senserrick, Director of the Western Australian Centre for Road Safety Research, and Dr Matthew (Tepi) Mclaughlin, Adjunct Research Fellow from the University of Western Australia, to discuss why WA's road fatalities are the highest they've been in a decade and what can be done about it. Or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

In July 2025, six people lost their lives in separate crashes in WA all within a 48-hour period.  

In 2024, there were 188 fatalities on WA roads, which was recorded as the worst year in nearly a decade, with 30 more deaths than in 2023.  

For some years now WA has had one of the worst road fatality rates of any State. On average over the 2020 to 2024 period, three people were killed every week due to road trauma.  

To help us unpack what’s been happening on WA roads, we spoke with Professor Teresa Senserrick, Director of the Western Australian Centre for Road Safety Research, and Dr Matthew Mclaughlin - who prefers to go by the name Tepi - and is Adjunct Research Fellow in the School of Human Sciences at the University of Western Australia. 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to WA Road Fatalities 

00:37 Expert Insights on Road Safety 

01:20 Current Trends and Statistics 

02:56 Factors Contributing to High Fatality Rates 

04:04 Impact of Urban Sprawl and Car Dependency 

04:45 Potential Solutions and Road Design 

13:29 Behavioural Factors and Speeding 

21:16 Cultural Aspects of Driving in WA 

32:07 Public Health Insights 

33:21 Addressing Vulnerable Road Users 

35:07 Pedestrian Safety and Infrastructure Challenges 

38:31 Vehicle Choices and Road Safety 

43:14 The Safe System Approach to Road Safety 

49:33 The Role of Policy in Road Safety 

54:23 Achieving Zero Road Deaths 

01:02:40 Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions