December road risk isn’t random | What the data shows us
03 December 2025
By Simon Donovan | Executive General Manager, Sales and Distribution of Fuse Fleet
In the 12 months to October 2025*, 1,361 people died on Australian roads, 6.9% more than last year. Behind that headline is a clear pattern: most fatal crashes involve a single vehicle (686 crashes, 54.1% of all fatalities) and this crash type has risen 8.7% year on year. Multiple-vehicle fatal crashes have also increased by 10.3%.
Together, these trends reflect rising fatigue, distraction and workload pressure across the network, the same pressures that intensify every December. And December risk repeats every year. Teams who plan for it, not hope for luck, finish the year with fewer surprises.
The 12 risks of Christmas
We’ve identified the festive season risk patterns that hurt fleets every year:
The Fatigue Fairy – Long December days and late nights quietly lift fatigue risk, increasing run-off-road incidents.
Next-Morning Impairment – After festive events, residual alcohol often lingers. A driver who feels “fine” at 7am may still be impaired at a level that doubles their crash probability.
The Regional Shift – Christmas travel pushes city drivers onto fast regional roads where risk is significantly higher.
Rental Roulette – Holiday hirers bring unfamiliar driving styles into unfamiliar vehicles. Operators who match vehicle choice to driver experience avoid costly mismatch incidents.
The Get It Done Shift – As cut-offs approach, driving behaviour tightens with later braking and shrinking gaps.
Plus seven more patterns detailed in our festive safety poster.
What brokers can take to their customers this week
Download the “12 Risks of Christmas” Poster – Share it with your fleet and rental customers or ask us to co-brand it for you. It’s visual, practical and designed to live on office walls.
Show us your wall and WIN – Put the poster up in your office (or your customer’s), snap a quick photo and go into the draw to win a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Vintage (closes 12 December 2025).
Email Jayne Gerrie for your co-branded version or to enter the draw.
Use Fuse Fleet’s Crash Probability insights to identify which drivers and routes carry the most exposure before December peaks.
For rental operators, use CRI claims patterns to map seasonal hotspots and allocate vehicles intelligently during the festive rush.
This is what brokers can deliver: not another generic safe driving message, but practical risk intelligence that helps customers stay ahead of preventable incidents.
Please reach out to Simon Donovan or the Fuse Fleet team to discuss risk management strategies to keep your people and your fleet safe this festive season.
* Source: National Road Safety Data Hub, BITRE Road Deaths Australia Monthly Bulletin, October 2025.
