Print PageA total of 48 people have died on Australian roads this Christmas/New Year period, with the count to end at midnight.
The latest fatality was a motorcyclist who collided with a four-wheel-drive at Howes Valley in NSW's Hunter region about 5.15pm (AEDT) on Thursday.
His death took NSW's toll to 13, the highest in the country.
Victoria is next on nine, Western Australia on eight, Queensland and South Australia on seven each, Tasmania on three and the Northern Territory on one. Only the ACT has been fatality free.
A 22-year-old Adelaide man who was hit by a car on New Year's Eve died in hospital on Wednesday while a motorcyclist who crashed after evading an RBT stop near Newcastle on Boxing Day died on Thursday morning.
NSW police are running Operation Safe Arrival for a longer period, with an extra death recorded two days before the national count started.
Final figures for the holiday toll period are expected on Friday.
Last Christmas/New Year a total of 50 people died on Australian roads.
* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.
