Australia is a massive country, abundant in both roads and wild animals.
The two things do not mix well.
More than 21,000 vehicle insurance claims were analysed after drivers hit an animal in 2023.
Here's what the data reveals about the worst roads for animal collisions in the country.
In New South Wales, the town where the most animals are hit by drivers is Dubbo, in the state's central west.
Dubbo took the dubious title of the biggest hotspot for animal collisions in the entire country for 2023.
The top five NSW hotspots are the following:
Dubbo
Goulburn
Orange
Yass
Bungendore
The worst month in NSW for animal collisions was October. Drivers were most likely to hit an animal on Sundays between 4.30 pm and 8 pm.
The most common vehicle to be involved in NSW animal collisions was the Toyota Landcruiser.
Across the country, the most likely driver to hit an animal was a man aged 45-54.
The top five Victorian hotspots for animal collisions in 2023 were the following:
Sunbury
Gisborne
Wallan
Heathcote
Craigieburn
Roads in Gisborne were the second biggest Victorian hotspot for animal collisions.
Victoria's data showed that Saturdays and the month of September between 8 pm and 12 am were the most dangerous for animals.
Victorian's most common car for a dust-up with an animal was the Holden Commodore in 2023.
In Queensland, the tiny town of Nebo was the biggest hotspot for animal collisions. -
The animals most likely to be involved in car crashes last year were; kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, deer, dogs, cows, emus, pigs, foxes and rabbits.
Nebo
Brisbane
Goondiwindi
Townsville
Charters Towers
In Queensland, Fridays in August at Dusk were statistically the worst time for animal-vehicle collisions.
Queenslanders in Toyota Landcruisers were the most likely to hit an animal.
The worst hotspots in Western Australia last year were:
Baldivis
Collie
Carnarvon
Toodyay
Albany
According to the latest data, around 16 per cent of car insurance claims that involved an animal saw the vehicle written off.
Kangaroos in Western Australia were most likely to cause an accident in May, at Dusk, and in the path of a Landcruiser.
The Apple Isle punched slightly above its weight when it came to animal collisions, beating out some of the mainland states and territories. Its top crash-hotspots were:
Kingston
Cambridge
Hobart
Brighton
Launceston
Sunday nights, and the month of March were especially bad time for the wallabies of Tasmania.
The most common car involved in animal accidents in Tasmania was the Toyota Corlla.
In South Australia, the worst hotspots were :
Port Augusta
Mount Gambier
Renmark
Morgan
Whyalla
Just under one in ten drivers said if they hit an animal they wouldn't stop to check if it had survived according to respondents to Aami's survey.
Where most of the country was most likely to be involved in an accident in the evening, South Australians were most likely to hit an animal at dawn.
September was the worst month for animal collisions in South Australia.
Our nation's capital territory was not spared from its share of animal collisions.
The most common locations within the ACT for animal collisions were :
Canberra
Hume
Belconnen
Kambah
Majura
Toyota Corolla drivers of the ACT beware: they were the most likely drivers to hit an animal last year, with the cooler months also the worst time of year for collisions.
The average cost of an insurance claim for animal collisions was greater than $5,000, Aami said.
In the Northern Territory, Katherine was the worst hotspot for collisions, with the top five as follows:
Katherine
Tennant Creek
Adelaide River
Alice Springs
Batchelor
The Toyota landcruiser again was the main culprit of animal collisions, with Friday nights the most common time for animal accidents.