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Blog | Kapsch TrafficCom April 27, 20263 min reading time

Connecting for Safety: How to Bring Down Australia’s A$27 Billion Transport Safety Bill

Smart city and communication network concept. 5G. LPWA (Low Power Wide Area). Wi (KTC4995)

By Daniel Vázquez, EVP Asia-Pacific, Kapsch TrafficCom 

Australia’s road safety story has long been one of progress – but today, it is also a story of cost. Not only in human terms, but in economic ones.  Every year, transport-related injuries and fatalities impose a burden of almost A$27 billion on the Australian economy.  That figure should give us pause because of its scale, but also because so much of it is preventable. 

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, more than 65,000 people were hospitalised due to transport-related injuries in 2023–24, accounting for around 11% of all injury hospitalisations nationwide.  The direct health system cost alone is now estimated at A$1.5 billion each year.  When lost productivity, long-term care, insurance and broader social impacts are considered, the cost of road trauma rises to almost A$27 billion annually, as reported through the National Road Safety Data Hub. 

In times of growing economic pressures, tight budgets and rising costs, this number should compel us to invest in proactive ways to reduce that bill. 

Sydney warringah freeway rush hour traffic with blurred head lights at sunset (KTC2479)

Safety stagnates, but costs are rising 

While injury rates per capita have improved slightly over the past decade due to improved electronic safety systems, population growth means the absolute number of people harmed on our roads continues to rise.  More crashes mean more hospital admissions, more congestion, more strain on emergency services, and higher costs borne by taxpayers, businesses and families alike – compounded by inflation, of course. 

This is why organisations such as the Australian Automobile Association and state road authorities are warning that Australia has reached a road safety plateau.  The established methods of crash reduction have largely exhausted their impact, leaving the nation off-track to reach its stated safety targets. 

Why technology and connectivity matter 

Australia’s National Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 acknowledges this reality.  Endorsed by all federal, state and territory governments, the strategy commits to halving road fatalities by 2030 and working toward Vision Zero by 2050.  Crucially, it recognises that success depends on strengthening the entire system – not just influencing individual behaviour. 

Supporting strategies, including the National Road Transport Technology Strategy, are explicit: the next generation of road safety gains will be driven by technology, data and connectivity. 

This is where Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) fundamentally change the equation.  

 

Turning connection into cost reduction 

C-ITS enables vehicles, traffic infrastructure and vulnerable road users to exchange real-time safety information.  This matters because earlier warnings prevent crashes – and preventing crashes is the most effective way to cut costs. 

In practice, C-ITS can: 

  • Warn drivers of sudden braking or incidents beyond line of sight
  • Alert vehicles to pedestrians or cyclists hidden in blind spots
  • Give priority to emergency vehicles, reducing response times
  • Support safer movement through high-risk intersections and corridors

Each avoided collision represents savings across healthcare, emergency services, insurance, congestion and lost productivity.  Scaled nationally, these savings compound rapidly.  Economic modelling from the Ipswich Connected Vehicle Pilot (ICVP) in Queensland found that a coordinated C-ITS rollout can deliver a Benefit-Cost Ratio of up to 3.4 - returning $3.40 to the economy for every dollar invested. 

International experience reinforces the point.  Countries such as Germany are already deploying C-ITS at scale – across more than 13,000 kilometres of highways – not only as a safety investment, but as a core component of efficient, resilient transport networks.  The direction of travel is clear: connected infrastructure reduces risk, and lower risk reduces cost.

A roadside unit by Kapsch TrafficCom being installed on a German highway message sign

A roadside unit by Kapsch TrafficCom being installed on a German highway message sign 

The good news: Australia is already laying the foundations 

Australia is not starting from zero.  In February 2024, Infrastructure and Transport Ministers from all jurisdictions jointly endorsed the Principles for a National Approach to C-ITS, committing to a consistent, interoperable rollout focused squarely on road safety outcomes. 

Pilot programs – from the Ipswich Connected Vehicle Pilot in Queensland to national harmonisation initiatives – have already demonstrated how C-ITS functions in real-world traffic.  

From alignment to long-term impact 

From a policy perspective, Australia is well positioned, but the remaining challenge is to roll out the technology at scale.  Delivering meaningful cost reduction will require sustained investment, consistent standards, and considerable know-how.  These systems need stability and reliability for decades of deployment – factors that require rigorous, proven engineering in today’s fast moving, marketing-heavy tech environment. 

You can’t cut costs without C-ITS 

C-ITS will not eliminate every crash.  But the evidence is clear: Australia will not achieve its safety or cost reduction ambitions without it. 

By enabling vehicles, infrastructure and road users to work together, C-ITS offers a practical path to breaking the safety plateau – and to steadily reducing the A$27 billion price tag of road trauma. 

 

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