Over-confident dads cause most Aussie road fatalities

Dads are now our deadliest drivers, causing more road fatalities in the past two years than younger drivers, a new study shows.

While drivers aged 17 to 25 have traditionally taken the most risks behind the wheel due to inexperience, it's over-confident older men who are being labelled the country's worst drivers.

A new NSW Centre for Road Safety (CRS) study of 1500 male drivers showed men in the 30 to 49 age group were the highest offenders of over-estimating their skill, driving while drunk and not wearing seatbelts.

The group commonly took a relaxed attitude on the roads, expecting their skill and experience will get them out of trouble.

But it's a different story when their children are in the car, with dads taking more precautions when driving others around.

The research showed a trend in older males who were becoming more reckless behind the wheel, in contrast to a rigorous licensing system pulling younger drivers in line, CRS executive director Bernard Carlon told News Corp.

“[Men aged 30-49] clearly say that they are such good drivers that no matter what the circumstances are, they would be able to avoid a crash.

“The reality of the numbers is that’s not happening and that, in fact, the number of fatalities are going up.”

He noticed the shift in the age of road fatalities about five years ago while researching driver deaths in commercial vehicles and light trucks, then widened his research to male drivers of all vehicles in the age group.

The findings showed the group was more likely to cause fatal collisions involving drink-driving, failing to wear seat belts and ­fatigue than any other.

Failing to wear a seatbelt was a cause of 26 per cent of road deaths among the 30-49 age group in 2015 and 2016, compared to 17 per cent of fatalities in younger motorists.

“[The older age group] are taking more risks than other drivers,” Mr Carlon said.

“They definitely think that their skill and ability is going to mitigate against those risks.

“The tragic outcome from this is it’s actually someone else’s family. We need to protect everybody in the road environment. If you are driving on your own, even then we don’t want to lose your life.”

The study also found 91 per cent of the 80 male drivers in the 30 to 49 year old group who were killed in NSW road incidents in the past two years were sole occupants of their vehicles.

In contrast, 67 per cent of deaths in the 17 to 25 age group were drivers who were alone in their cars.

NSW Roads Minister Melinda Pavey urged parents to set a better example for their children.

“Every time you get behind the wheel you should imagine you are carrying all the most precious people in your life,” she said.