2026-09-04
The road toll in WA is increasing, indicating that more government action is needed in increasing mindfulness of road users and pedestrians crossing roads
By Dr. Andrew Turk
As a pedestrian, again today I was almost run over by a car while crossing the road. WA drivers seem to be totally unfamiliar with the road rule that, when turning into a cross street at intersections, you must give way to pedestrians.
What some WA Roads Laws say:
There is only space here to provide a minimal list of relevant WA road rules, however, the following information, copied directly from official websites, gives a reasonable insight into the relevant laws.
Google informs me:
In Western Australia, drivers must give way to pedestrians at marked pedestrian (zebra) crossings and at intersections where pedestrians are crossing the road the car is turning into. Pedestrians (including skaters and wheelchair users) must follow designated crossing rules and are prohibited from stepping blindly into a driver's path. [1]
Key relevant quotes from WA government information indicated in parts A, B and C at Endnote 1:
Link A. discusses WA road legislation aimed at pedestrians:
Pedestrians form the largest, single road user group in WA because almost everyone is a pedestrian at some point.
Link B. discusses WA road legislation aimed at visiting drivers from other States or countries:
Visiting drivers in Western Australia must always give way to pedestrians at intersections and designated crossings. Whenever you turn left or right into a new street, or make a U-turn, you must wait for any pedestrians crossing that road to fully clear your intended lane. … The Road Traffic Code 2000 – is heavily enforced to protect pedestrians, visiting drivers should be familiar with these specific priority rules.
Link C. discusses WA road legislation aimed at providing advice about injuries and claims.
In Western Australia, hitting a pedestrian carries severe legal consequences, including heavy fines, licence suspension, and imprisonment. Drivers have a high legal duty of care. Depending on the circumstances and the severity of injuries, a driver can be charged with careless driving, dangerous driving, or manslaughter.
If my memory serves me properly, I believe there is also a general WA law forbidding any vehicle from running into a pedestrian, no matter what the circumstances.
There has been a sharp increase in WA pedestrian fatalities[2]:
- In 2020, 14 pedestrians died;
- In 2021, 21 pedestrians died;
- In 2022, 21 pedestrians died. This figure included various types of vulnerable road users, i.e.: e-rideable users, motorized wheelchair riders, skateboarders, and scooter riders;
- In 2023, 14 pedestrians died. Perhaps this figure reflects changes in recording procedures or road usage, late in the COVID 18 pandemic;
- In 2024, 31 pedestrians died, compared to 27 motorcyclists and 7 cyclists;
- In 2025, 33 pedestrians died;
- In the half-year between January and June 2026 - 22 pedestrians died in WA.
These figures vary a little between websites and so might the definition of ‘pedestrian’ especially regarding inclusion of e-rideable users, skateboarders and scooter riders, which have rapidly increased in recent years. So, I can offer no guarantee regarding the correctness of these figures. However, these statistics show a definite increase in pedestrian deaths and probably also those who share footpaths with them.
It is clear that cars drivers should try very hard not to run into pedestrians. Of course, pedestrians must also take responsibility for their own level of attention and actions. They should check that no cars are coming before they cross any road. However, if they are crossing at an intersection, a car may approach at speed, on either side of the road, wanting to make a left or right-hand turn across the path of the pedestrian. If the vehicle is coming up behind them, wanting to make a left turn, the pedestrian is faced with a difficult situation, first turning to see the coming vehicle then calculating its position and speed. If it has not already turned on a left turn signal, the task is even more difficult as the driver’s intention is unclear. New electric cars can be very quiet, hence, sound as a warning is reduced.
Drivers of cars seem often psychologically captured by the situation; desperate to go at the maximum speed and to find holes in the traffic, if they want to change lane or turn into a side-street. Hence, their attention is on other vehicles, NOT on pedestrians.
My experience
I am 77 years old but with good eyesight and hearing and have about sixty years of driving experiences, in many circumstances ‒ city, country and outback. I have also been a pedestrian in most of Australia’s State capitals. However, I am in the general demographic of ‘elderly’ who are especially vulnerable to being run-down at intersections.
Of course, other pedestrians are also in grave danger, such as mothers (or fathers) pushing a pram and herding a flock of children. Also, of-course, key pedestrians that drivers must be aware of are elders with poor eye-sight, hearing and/or mobility (walking with a stick or in a wheel-chair) and small children not yet aware of traffic dangers. A driver does not, in the instant of their decision-making, know anything much about a pedestrian, so they should be very careful approaching any elder or child.
I came to Perth in 1993, having lived the previous forty-four years dividing my life approximately evenly between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Since 1993 I have frequently visited many parts of WA and all the Australian capitals on many occasions, mostly for conferences or holidays. Hence, I may not be as intimately familiar with current driver behaviours in other Australian cities. However, I consider Perth drivers the worst in the nation. They are often using their mobile phone, even if it is not in their hand, listening to loud music or interacting with their passengers. Most drivers do not concentrate their attention on the road ahead to the extent that they should. In addition, they are extremely impatient, revealing an inappropriate psychological state.
Perth drivers seem to always be in a hurry, as if delivering a pregnant mother to hospital with the baby’s head about to emerge! This is why they are such a danger to pedestrians. They cannot stand even a five-second delay in their progress, without sounding their horn and waving their fist. For many it seems that their car is their pride and joy, a haven of peace away from the noisy, complicated world rushing by them at a speed at least five clicks beyond the current limit, on the basis of their belief that speed-cameras have an inbuilt error range.
Of course, there are some wonderfully vigilant and careful drivers among us. For them, we should thank our choice of God. But you know as-well-as-I-do, that they are in the minority. The others seem on a mission to end my life whenever I cross a road, at an intersection. Most days I need to jump back after starting to cross a road or stand for many minutes scanning all adjacent vehicles and trying to see if their eyes ever turn in my direction, before attempting to cross a road. The driver’s attention is almost always completely on the stream of cars (coming in both directions), searching for a ‘hole’ in the flow, that they can sneak through.
I very seriously worry that I will end up under some car’s wheels. That is why I maintain strong medical insurance and an up-to-date will.
Suggested actions
Firstly, my message to all pedestrians, especially elderly ones (like myself) is to assume you are invisible. Never cross a road while any car is approaching the intersection (in either direction) without being extremely careful to watch all the traffic. This message must be communicated in the strongest terms to police and politicians in the hope of getting changes in regulations and/or driver behaviour. I suggest urgent consideration of the following changes:
- In a sense, it is in the financial interest for the government to do nothing about this issue except purchase and install thousands of cheap cameras at as many intersections as possible. Penalties for identified breaches of the turning rule by drivers could include fines ranging from $100 to $1,000 depending on how close they were to actually hitting a pedestrian. Hopefully, given that most WA people care more about money than anything else, this action alone would reduce the danger to pedestrians. It would also be a huge revenue raiser.
- Speed limits could be reduced, especially in streets with lots of pedestrians using the general area, such as shopping centres.
- In addition, the WA Government could introduce a strong publicity campaign on TV. For instance, including realistic frightening vision of an elderly lady being run-over by an inattentive driver. This would emphasise the existing laws and the installation of many new cameras and the increased fines.
- An alternative is sticking with the current law and camera distribution and aiming the scary advertisements at pedestrians to make them more careful at intersections. I strongly advise against this approach. This is just serving the needs of the least worthy in our community at the expense of those who deserve most protection and reverence – our society’s ‘elders’.
Conclusions
I strongly urge all Greens Party politicians and members to raise as strong a voice as possible to call out this form of elder abuse. At the very least, one or all of recommendations I, II and III should be acted upon immediately. If full implementation of some of them is not possible right now, at least properly organised and independently-reviewed trials should be commenced. Option IV is definitely not recommended, as it tends to imply that pedestrians are the main problem. However, specific educational programs should be used for e-rideable users, skateboarders and scooter riders who are an obvious danger to themselves and to pedestrians.
In a more general sense, it would be good to include more advertising aimed at alerting Western Australian drivers to the dangers of inattention in general. The existing ones seem ineffective, at least by casual observation. Perhaps a serious investigation of their effectiveness needs to be undertaken, probably together with increased surveillance and higher fines.
There seem to be cameras at several important intersections that I routinely use (as a pedestrian), each seemingly fitted with a camera, however behaviour at those intersections has definitely not improved. Over the thirty plus years that I have been living here it has greatly deteriorated.
The near-miss that I started this article with, occurred at an intersection (of South and Carrington Streets, Hilton) with a pedestrian crossing and traffic lights, including left turn lights, but still I was very nearly run-down. I hope I can survive to see radical change in the behaviour of WA drivers with respect to pedestrians.
1. A. https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/road-safety-commission/pedestrians-a…;
B. https://www.google.com/search?q=WA+road+legislation+aimed+at+visiting+d…+
other+States+or+countries%3A++In+Western+Australia%2C+drivers+must+give+way+to+pedestrians;
C. https://www.shine.com.au/resources/motor-vehicle-law/your-rights-and-re….
2. A. https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2024-09/ksi-report-western-australia… ≈
B. https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2023-07/western-australian-road-fata…-
serious-injuries-2022.pdf
C. https://www.perthnow.com.au/wa/wa-road-toll-deaths-on-the-roads-lower-i… -
2024-as-australian-toll-soars-c-21180044
Header photo: Road rules for pedestrians: Transport Victoria.
[Opinions expressed are those of the author and not official policy of Greens WA]