Perth’s crash hotspots revealed, with 1 in 3 collisions in the city caused because of tailgating

A busy highway stretch in Perth’s south-east has been crowned the city’s number one crash hotspot, according to new data released on Tuesday.

The data comes on the back of a horror weekend on WA roads in which six people were killed in a catastrophic 28-hour window, with an elderly woman killed in a crash south of Mandurah on Tuesday becoming the seventh casualty.

Albany Highway in Cannington was found to be the worst road in Perth for crashes — with the highway’s intersection with Nicholson Road crowned as the state’s most dangerous.

Using almost 16,500 motor insurance claims across Perth to form the data, the 2026 AAMI Crash Index highlighted some of the other roads being blighted with crashes.

These included Karrinyup Road in Karrinyup, Great Eastern Highway in Midland, Nicholson Road in Canning Vale, and Joondalup Drive in Joondalup.

Males and people aged sixty-five and above were highlighted as the drivers most likely to crash, with owners of Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Ford vehicles being the biggest collision culprits.

AAMI Motor Prevention Manager, Mary Kennedy disclosed what the situation on Perth’s roads looked like.

“Albany Highway may have taken Perth’s unwanted crash crown, but the bigger story is that Perth’s highest-risk roads all share the same characteristics – they’re busy arterial routes carrying thousands of vehicles every day through major intersections, shopping precincts and commercial areas,” Ms Kennedy said.

“The crash hotspots topping our list all feature heavy traffic, multiple lanes, traffic lights and constant turning movements, where even a momentary lapse in concentration can quickly lead to a crash”.

Nose-to-tail impacts unsurprisingly remain the most common reason behind a collision, with around a third of accidents being caused by tailgating.

It’s followed by collisions with stationary objects and failure to give way, which accounts for approximately 1 in 5 Perth crashes.

“Most claims aren’t high-speed collisions. They’re everyday bingles like nose-to-tail crashes, minor collisions with stationary objects and failure to give way – which means they’re also among the most preventable,” Ms Kennedy continued.

Friday took the top spot for the worst overall day for accidents in Perth, with the index also revealing that most collisions happen between 1 and 4.30pm.

“Afternoons remain Perth’s peak prang time, when school pick-ups, commuters, shoppers and heavy traffic all converge,” Ms Kennedy said.

“It’s a timely reminder to slow down mentally as much as physically, stay patient and expect the unexpected.”

Remarkably, Perth drivers were praised for doing the right thing when it comes to speeding and not going on their phone, scoring an average of 95.5 and 87.8 respectively, out of 100.

Ms Kennedy continued: “That tells us Perth doesn’t have a speeding problem – it has an anticipation and attention problem.

“Looking further ahead, leaving yourself more time to react and taking extra care at intersections can be the difference between getting home safely and ending up in a crash.”