Pedestrians were killed more often than any other group on the road in North Sydney, Ryde, Burwood, Strathfield, Ku-ring-gai, Hunters Hill, Bayside, Georges River, Cumberland, Sydney City and Willoughby council areas between January 2015 and August 2018, a Herald analysis has found.

Experts say deaths of pedestrians are “going through the roof” in NSW. Distracted, drunk and careless drivers are taking more lives at a faster rate, despite millions being spent on road safety. Drivers are usually twice as likely to be killed on the road as pedestrians.

Lake Macquarie was the deadliest place in NSW for pedestrians, recording 16 lives lost since 2015. In Sydney, 13 people were killed in Canterbury, including a 16-year-old last month, and 11 people died in the Cumberland council area near Parramatta.

Professor of transport at the University of Sydney David Levinson said changing the way Sydney's traffic signals give priority to cars over pedestrians in busy areas was one way to stem the flow of injuries.