Data compiled by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics shows 1204 people died in road crashes in the 12 months to the end of March 2023, 67 more than in 2022.

The greatest increase was in pedestrian deaths which rose from 133 in 2022 to 163 in 2023, a 22.6 per cent increase.

The data also includes 48 people who died on Tasmanian roads, up from 44 during the previous period.

AAA managing director Michael Bradley said the rising road fatality rate necessitated a new approach, and called for a comprehensive national database.

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"Deaths are still rising, but we still have no national data on crash causes, serious injuries, road quality, or details on the people and vehicles involved,'' Mr Bradley said.

"We know that pedestrian road deaths rose by 22.6 per cent in the 12 months to 31 March. But we don't know the reasons for this surge.

"We need to know how people were killed in road crashes so we can prevent similar deaths in the future."

As of April 16 there have been 134 serious crashes on Tasmanian roads in 2023, with 11 fatalities and 123 serious injuries, according to the Department of State Growth.

At the same point in 2022 there had been 101 serious crashes, with 16 fatalities and 85 serious injuries. The overall road toll for 2022 was 51, one of the worst years on record.

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This prompted calls from the RACT for a reform to speed limit setting methods, however in January 2023 Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson said a blanket approach was off the table.

Mr Bradley said in addition to the national database, any federal roads funding should be contingent on the level of detail in state government reporting.

"This would enable motorists and taxpayers to judge what's going wrong, and would guide effective road safety measures,'' Mr Bradley said.

"It makes no sense for governments to set targets on road safety without releasing relevant data about what's working and what's failing."

Mr Ferguson was supportive of the national database, and said the Tasmanian Government was working to assist federal data collection efforts however he did not agree with tying funding to data reporting.

"Federal funding should be directly related to improving infrastructure and road safety programs, not tied to issues such as the release of data," he said.

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