CANBERRA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of deaths on Australian roads has increased to the highest level in over a decade.

Data published by NGO the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) on Tuesday revealed that 1,310 people died on Australian roads in the 12-month period between the start of July 2023 and the end of June 2024.

It marks an increase of 11.7 percent from the same period in 2022-23 and the deadliest 12 months on Australian roads since the period to the end of November 2012, when 1,310 fatalities were also recorded.

The federal government in 2021 set a target of reducing national road deaths by 50 percent and serious injuries by 30 percent by 2030 under the National Road Safety Strategy.

Michael Bradley, managing director of the AAA, said on Tuesday that federal, state and territory governments must cooperate on a data-driven response to reduce road deaths.

"States and territories must report data they hold about the causes of crashes, the quality of roads, and the effectiveness of policing, so it can be used to produce more effective road safety interventions," he said in a statement.

"Data sharing will reveal which state's road safety measures are the most effective, and the safety interventions that are most needed."

According to the AAA report, deaths on roads in the Northern Territory (NT) more than doubled from 26 in 2022-23 to 54 in 2023-24.

There were 358 road deaths in 2023-24 in New South Wales, Australia's largest state by population, up 23 percent from the previous year.

The states of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia all recorded increases of less than 10 percent.

In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory road deaths in 2023-24 were 30.8 and 20 percent lower than in 2022-23, respectively. Enditem

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