From the archive · Published
This article originally shared an Allianz Australia Car Insurance infographic about Australian highways. It is retained here as a look back at road travel, with its original source credit and an explanation of the dates behind the figures.
Read this as historical information
The infographic includes 2010 data, comparisons reaching back to 1971/72, and references published in 2011. Its road rankings, toll-road list and distance chart should not be used to judge today's road risk or plan a current route.
Three figures from the 2010 survey
The archived ABS Survey of Motor Vehicle Use provides context for these figures shown in the graphic. Its reference period was 1 November 2009 to 31 October 2010, and the results were estimates from a sample survey.
Selected historical figures, not current totals
| Measure |
2010 estimate |
What it means |
| Registered vehicles |
16.0 million |
Vehicles registered in Australia during the survey's twelve-month period. |
| Distance travelled |
226,632 million kilometres |
Total travel by Australian motor vehicles during that period. |
| Petrol share of passenger-vehicle fuel |
84.1% |
The share of fuel consumed by passenger vehicles that was petrol. |
A guide to the rest of the graphic
- Road lists: state-by-state highway counts, selected highway lengths and elevations, and a historical toll-road list.
- Distances: a city-to-city driving-distance chart. Routes, diversions and starting points affect the distance you actually travel.
- Travel trends: comparisons of vehicle numbers and distances across older periods. The ABS cautions that survey changes over time require careful interpretation.
- Road-risk rankings: claims drawn from older material, with no single observation period clearly attached to every ranking. They are not a current safety assessment.
Original infographic: Allianz Australia Car Insurance. Contains historical figures and road lists; retained uncropped with its original source notes.
Historical context and planning links reviewed on . The original infographic has not been updated to represent 2026 statistics.