Pedestrian deaths just reached an 18-year high. Bull bars are part of the problem

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 03:07:37 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/pedestrian-deaths-just-reached-an-18-year-high-bull-bars-are-part-of-the-problem-273362>

"The national road trauma data for December last year was just released, which
means we now have a full picture of Australia’s road safety outcomes for 2025.

The picture is concerning.

For the first time since 2010, total road deaths surpassed 1,300. This marks
the fifth consecutive year of growth in road trauma.

But a closer look at how these deaths are distributed across different road
users tells an important story.

Fatalities among drivers and passengers have largely plateaued. The rise is
being driven mainly by the deaths of vulnerable road users: pedestrians,
cyclists and motorcyclists.

In 2025, 197 pedestrians were killed on Australian roads, the highest number
since 2007. Almost every state recorded a noticeable spike in pedestrian deaths
compared to last year.

Cyclist deaths also climbed to 49, up 32% from last year – the highest since
2013.

This suggests the added risk on our roads is not being shared evenly.
Vulnerable road users are absorbing most of it."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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