Tasmania’s number one type of road crash, says insurer AAMI, is colliding with a stationary object. Second is a failure to give way crash and third is a nose-to-tail crash. The insurer blames driver distraction or multitasking. But Tasmanians are no more affected by these than other Australian drivers.
Some road crash statistics
It’s not surprising Tasmanians are twice as likely to hit an animal while driving. But there is good news too. They are only half as likely to have a nose-to-tail accident and have fewer accidents than the rest of us because of failure to give way.
| Type of crash | Tasmania | National |
| Hit stationary object | 29% | 18% |
| Fail to give way | 18% | 23% |
| Nose-to-tail | 17% | 31% |
| Collide while reversing | 13% | 12% |
| Collide with parked car | 11% | 8% |
| Hit animal | 11% | 6% |
Source: AAMI
When not to drive
Your chances of crashing in Tasmania are greatest between 1pm and 4.30pm, when 27% of crashes occur. This could be related to school pickup times. The morning commute, from 9.30am to 1pm, makes up 24% of crashes.
Most crashes, 20%, happen on Fridays but only 10% happen on Sundays. Hobart residents probably know Argyle Street and Sandy Bay Road are always the hotspots.
Oldest cars
Did you know Tasmanians drive the oldest cars in Australia, at 12.3 years? In NSW, the average is 9.3, compared to a national average of 9.8. This means many lack the safety features that come standard in newer cars. You are more likely to be injured or killed if you crash in an older vehicle.
Your chances of crashing in Tasmania are higher than the Australian average. In the year to October 2018, only 3% of all road deaths were in Tasmania. But the road death rate per 100,000 population is 6.26 compared to 4.78 in Australia. Only NT and WA are higher. So be careful.