The cost of crashes in NSW has fallen to $35.7 billion in the period between 2011 – 2015, an eight per cent drop compared to the five years prior.
According to the NRMA's second The Cost of Crashes report, since the release of the first report in 2012 lives lost on the state's roads have fallen more than 20 per cent to 1,723. This has cost of almost $16 billion.
Over the same five year period, serious injuries increased 4.6 per cent to 61,130. This has cost the NSW community almost $18 billion.
NRMA chairman Kyle Loades said while the fall in incidents was pleasing, spikes in 2015 and 2016 needed to be dealt with in a timely fashion to ensure NSW meets its target of a 30 per cent reduction in road fatalities by 2021.
"The NRMA Cost of Crashes report points to positive inroads in reducing the number of lives lost on our roads over the five-year period of the report - this is promising.
"However, after a record low year for fatalities in 2014 we saw unwanted spikes in 2015 and 2016 and clearly, this is something that we need to address as a community.”
Yet in the same report it was revealed that regional crashes cost economy $15.71 billion a year, while crashes in the Illawarra are costing the NSW economy $878 million.
Both regional and Illawarra incidents are growing at an alarming rate according to the NRMA, with the far western region recordomg the highest percentage increase in the cost of serious injuries.
Analysis of the Illawarra highlighted that the cost of serious injuries had increased by over two per cent to almost $679 million during the five year period 2011-15.
NRMA local director Marisa Mastroianni said: "The Cost of Crashes report highlights that the Illawarra has made some progress in reducing the number of lives lost on our roads over the five-year period of the report which is positive.
"However, after a record low year for lives lost in 2014 we have seen unwanted spikes in 2015 and 2016 and this is clearly something that we need to address as a community."
The spike in 2015 and 2016 appears to be a concerning matter state-wide as NRMA regional director Fiona Simson also pointed out a dip prior to the previous two years.
The NRMA is also concerned with an over-representation in crashes among young drivers.