NSW road toll: Mudgee and Cabonne LGAs suffer our region's worst road toll in 2022

Transport for NSW revealed, based on data from Local Government Areas, the Central West road toll hit 21 people in 2022.

The Dubbo LGA suffered one fatality, while elsewhere two people lost their lives on Bathurst roads.

The Orange LGA suffered one fatality, which was a single-vehicle crash on Millthorpe Road, about 15km east of Orange, in March, 2022.

The worst LGAs in 2022 were Cabonne (four) and Mid-Western (four), where a total of eight people were killed on roads.

The Blayney LGA remained fatality free. It was one of 25 across the state to achieve the mark.

Tara McCarthy, Deputy Secretary of Safety, Environment and Regulation at Transport for NSW said of those deaths, around one-quarter of them tragically occurred on wet roads.

"Extreme wet weather events, easing COVID travel restrictions and increased business activities across NSW sadly contributed to an increase in fatalities on the state's road network in 2022," she said.

"The road toll isn't just a number. It represents people. That is why any death or serious injury on our roads is one too many."

NSW's road toll experienced an upturn in 2022.

After NSW's third lowest road toll since 1923 last year, 288 people died in fatal accidents on the state's roads in 2022.

That number is below pre-COVID levels of an average 363 deaths a year (2017-19).

The record rain and more activity on our roads is behind the jump.

"Sadly, these factors contributed to an increase in the road toll," Ms McCarthy said, with 275 people dying on roads in NSW in 2021.

Ms McCarthy said the NSW Government is committed to achieving its goal of zero deaths or serious injuries in NSW by 2050.

Wet and wild weather conditions contributed to an increase in fatalities on roads across the state, compared to 2021.

Dubbo, recorded over 1000mm of rain for the calendar year. A total of 1028.8mm was recorded at Dubbo airport.

"Many communities across the state battled challenging weather conditions in 2022. Sadly, 70 people lost their lives around the state on wet roads compared to 44 in 2021," said Ms McCarthy.

Fatalities in metropolitan and country NSW climbed to 88 and 200 in 2022 but remained below the 2017-19 pre-COVID average.

"Speeding, drink and drug driving and fatigue continue to be the leading factors involved in death and serious injuries on our roads," said Ms McCarthy.

"Last year, speeding contributed to 41 per cent of the road toll, with the majority of those being on country roads.

"Drug driving, drink driving and fatigue each contribute to about 14 to 20 per cent of deaths each year.

"With longer distances to cover in the bush, it's all too easy to become complacent about road safety. But one poor decision or one moment's lapse in concentration can be the difference between life and death.

In 2022, there were 25 local government areas across NSW remain fatality free, including six in metropolitan Sydney.

"This is a great result for those communities and demonstrates that a zero-road toll can be achieved," Ms McCarthy said.

Across the west ...

Fatalities on Country Roads and Metropolitan Roads ...

Driver, passenger, cyclist, and pedestrian fatalities ...

Heavy trucks ...

Motorcyclists ...

Fatalities by age/gender groups ...

LGAs with the lowest and highest fatalities ...

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: