Motorists have been urged to take care after five tragic deaths within 24 hours on West Australia roads.
The state’s road toll currently stands at 103 lives lost so far in 2025, the highest figure in a decade and 10 more than this time last year.
That figure will rise when the Road Safety Commission updates the road toll after this weekend.
WA Police Road Policing Commander Mike Peters and the state’s Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner are frustrated with the mounting death toll.
The pair put on a united front in the hope the latest tragedies will be a wake-up call to motorists as the July school holidays get underway.
‘I don’t think frustration sums it up. I’m not sure if there’s a word that sums up how I feel at the moment,’ Commissioner Peters said.
‘That’s five people that won’t be at Christmas this year and five doors that had to be knocked on by our officers to make those absolutely tragic notifications.
‘I just want to reiterate speed, seatbelts, fatigue, alcohol and drugs and distraction remain to be over-represented in all these crashes.
Five people died within 24 hours in five separate crashes in WA, including a man whose 4WD struck a tree and caught on fire in Serpentine (pictured)
WA’s Police Road Policing Commander Mike Peters is concerned with the state’s growing road toll
‘I’m not talking about the five [recent fatalities] specifically, but road deaths to this point are over-represented with those five factors.’
Five fatal crashes claimed five lives within 24 hours across WA late last week.
A motorcyclist, 70, was killed after he collided with a tow truck at an intersection in Australind, in the state’s south-west on Thursday afternoon.
A second man, 40, died after colliding with a truck towing three trailers at Mariginiup, north of Perth about 6am on Friday.
Just 30 minutes later, a male pedestrian, 51, was killed when he was hit by a car in east Perth’s Mundaring.
Later on Friday morning, a fourth man died when his 4WD struck a tree and caught on fire in Serpentine, in south-east Perth.
Several hours later, a female passenger, 64, died after the vehicle she was travelling struck a tree in Alfred Cove.
‘It’s incredibly frustrating that we have these sustained levels of deaths on our roads,’ Mr Warner said.
‘We need to be conscious about the choices we make when we get behind the wheel.’
A female passenger, 64, died after the vehicle (pictured) she was travelling struck a tree in Alfred Cove
Mr Warner issued a desperate plea to motorists.
‘I’m not asking you to be angels or perfect. But I need you to make an adjustment, otherwise, nothing will change,’ he said.
The WA government has set a goal to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on its roads by 50-70 per cent before 2030.
‘Population growth and the economic growth, which is good for our community and good for WA, is putting upward pressure on the road toll,’ Mr Warner said.
Cameras with AI technology have been installed at more than 100 locations across Perth.
These cameras are the most advanced in the country and are currently in a trial phase, according to the WA government.
Fines generated by the cameras are expected to kick in by October.
‘When we move into enforcement mode with these new cameras in a couple of months, we’re expecting a big shift in behaviour,’ Mr Warner said
‘We don’t want the money. We want people to change their behaviour and save lives.’
