Australia’s Most Crash-Prone Roads: New Data Reveals Where Drivers Are Having the Most Crashes
Australia’s roads have plenty of notorious stretches, but new insurance claims data has revealed exactly where drivers are having the most crashes.
We analysed more than 394,000 motor insurance claims lodged across Australia during 2025, identifying the roads and intersections where crashes are occurring most frequently.
The results show that many of the country’s biggest crash hotspots aren’t associated with high-speed collisions. Instead, everyday driving situations such as heavy traffic, following too closely, late braking and misjudging turns feature prominently.
Melbourne dominates Australia’s crash hotspot list
Melbourne features heavily in this year’s results, taking nine of the top 10 positions nationally.
The biggest change is at the top of the list. Springvale Road in Glen Waverley has overtaken Plenty Road in Bundoora to become Australia’s number one crash hotspot for the first time in eight years.
The top 10 roads are:
| Rank | Road | Location | Most common crash type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springvale Road | Glen Waverley, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
| 2 | Plenty Road | Bundoora, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
| 3 | Doncaster Road | Doncaster, VIC | Failure to give way |
| 4 | Maroondah Highway | Ringwood, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
| 5 | Sydney Road | Campbellfield, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
| 6 | Bell Street | Preston, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
| 7 | Cooper Street | Epping, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
| 8 | Nepean Highway | Cheltenham, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
| 9 | Pennant Hills Road | Carlingford, NSW | Nose-to-tail |
| 10 | Stud Road | Rowville, VIC | Nose-to-tail |
Pennant Hills Road in Carlingford was the only road outside Victoria to make the national top 10.
Why are these roads seeing so many crashes?
There is a common thread connecting many of the roads at the top of the list: traffic density and complexity.
The data indicates that many of the biggest hotspots feature heavy traffic, multiple lanes, traffic lights, major intersections, shopping precincts and frequent turning movements.
These conditions can create situations where a momentary lapse in concentration results in a collision.
Importantly, many of the crashes aren’t the dramatic high-speed accidents drivers might associate with dangerous roads.
Instead, nose-to-tail collisions, failure-to-give-way incidents and collisions with stationary objects make up a significant proportion of the crashes recorded.
That makes some of Australia’s most common crashes surprisingly mundane — and potentially preventable.
The driving habits contributing to crashes
The data also provides insight into the driving behaviours associated with crashes.
Five key behaviours were assessed: speeding, distraction, acceleration, braking and cornering.
Interestingly, speeding and phone distraction weren’t the lowest-scoring behaviours.
Australian drivers recorded average scores of:
- 95.9/100 for speed
- 87.6/100 for avoiding phone distraction
- 78.6/100 for acceleration
- 77.9/100 for braking
- 76.3/100 for cornering
The lower scores for acceleration, braking and cornering suggest that there is room for improvement in the way drivers approach busy traffic and intersections.
For drivers, that could mean something as simple as leaving a larger gap to the vehicle ahead, looking further down the road rather than just at the car immediately in front, and allowing more time to react when traffic conditions change.
Australia’s crash hotspots aren’t limited to Melbourne
Although Melbourne dominates the national rankings, every Australian capital city has its own crash hotspots.
In Brisbane, Mains Road in Sunnybank was the city’s worst crash hotspot, with nose-to-tail collisions prominent among the crashes recorded.
In Perth, Albany Highway in Cannington topped the list, with nose-to-tail crashes again featuring heavily.
North East Road in Modbury was Adelaide’s leading crash hotspot, where failure to give way was the most common crash type.
In Hobart, Sandy Bay Road in Sandy Bay topped the city’s list, with collisions involving stationary objects featuring prominently.
Hindmarsh Drive in Phillip was Canberra’s leading crash hotspot, while Trower Road in Casuarina topped Darwin’s list.
Sydney was the only other capital city represented in Australia’s national top 10, with Pennant Hills Road in Carlingford ranking ninth nationally.
What can drivers do differently?
The data suggests that reducing crashes isn’t necessarily about making dramatic changes to the way we drive.
Instead, small adjustments can make a difference, particularly on busy arterial roads and around major intersections.
Leave more space.
A larger following distance gives you more time to react if traffic suddenly stops.
Look further ahead.
Watching several vehicles ahead can help you anticipate changes rather than reacting at the last second.
Approach intersections carefully.
Busy intersections involve multiple lanes, turning vehicles, pedestrians and changing traffic signals, creating more opportunities for mistakes.
Avoid rushing through traffic.
Late braking and sudden acceleration can leave less room to respond to unexpected changes.
Take extra care when turning.
Misjudging turns or failing to give way can quickly turn a routine trip into a collision.
What the data tells us about Australian roads
The latest crash data provides an interesting reminder that road safety isn’t only about speed.
Some of Australia’s busiest roads are also environments where drivers need to make dozens of decisions in a short period — when to brake, when to change lanes, whether another vehicle is slowing down and who has right of way.
With nine of Australia’s ten biggest crash hotspots located in Melbourne, the Victorian capital stands out in this year’s data. But the broader message applies across the country: many crashes happen during ordinary journeys and involve ordinary driving mistakes.
Knowing where these crashes are concentrated — and understanding the behaviours behind them — gives drivers another reason to slow down, leave more room and pay closer attention when navigating Australia’s busiest roads.
Source: 2026 AAMI Crash Index. Claims data was sourced from motor insurance claims lodged between 1 January and 31 December 2025. Driver behaviour data covered 50,123 participants aged 18+ in Australia during the same period.