Insurance professionals are being urged to take note of recent crash data released by RAA showing that a significant number of vehicle incidents on South Australia’s high-speed roads occur in wet conditions.
According to data covering 2019 to 2023, Main North Road recorded the highest number of wet road crashes among the state’s high-speed corridors, with 242 incidents over the five-year period.
Other heavily affected roads included:
The figures showed that approximately 19% of crashes on roads with speed limits of 80km/h or higher occurred during wet weather.
In contrast, only about 12% of crashes on lower-speed roads happened in similar conditions, indicating a heightened risk on faster-moving routes.
RAA’s data also revealed that substance use plays a substantial role in fatal crashes on wet roads. Drug use was involved in 38% of such fatalities, while alcohol was a factor in 16%.
These proportions were notably higher than those recorded in dry-weather crashes, where drugs and alcohol were involved in 17% and 18% of fatalities, respectively.
RAA’s senior manager of road safety, Charles Mountain, said the combination of reduced traction in wet conditions and impaired driving significantly increases risk.
“With rain returning after a long dry spell, the roads will be extra slippery due to the build-up of oil and other substances on the road,” he said. “If you’re driving at 80km/h, it will take your car almost 90 metres to come to a stop when it’s wet – compared with 64 metres if it’s dry. These distances are even greater when your tyres are worn.”
He urged vehicle owners to ensure pre-winter maintenance checks are completed, particularly on tyres, wipers, and lights.
“If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to do some prewinter checks on your vehicle, particularly on tyres, wipers, lights, and general mechanical condition and fix any problems as soon as possible,” Mountain said.
In a separate report stemming from the 2025 Risky Roads survey, Curtis Road in Adelaide’s northern suburbs emerged as the most problematic based on more than 1,800 community submissions.
This corridor saw 143 casualty crashes between 2019 and 2023. Traffic volume has grown 21% since 2017, with some areas now accommodating over 24,000 vehicles daily.
Additional regional roads – including Victor Harbor Road and Goolwa Road – were flagged for poor surface conditions and outdated designs.
RAA senior traffic engineer Matt Vertudaches noted that infrastructure issues remain a dominant theme in public feedback.
“We continue to call for more investment to address our road maintenance backlog to improve safety, before the problem gets even worse,” he said.
Separately, Rollin’ Insurance released driver behaviour findings based on telematics data collected through its Safe ‘n Save app.
Analysing over 18 million kilometres of driving activity, the data assessed driver performance on braking, acceleration, cornering, and phone usage.
South Australia emerged with the highest average safety score at 90.3, marginally ahead of Queensland (89.6) and Western Australia (88.9). Geelong topped city rankings, followed by Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast.
However, mobile phone use while driving remained a concern. While South Australian drivers showed the lowest rate of distraction – averaging one phone use every nine trips – 91% of users nationwide were detected using a phone while on the road.
