Overall, Great Northern Highway performs favourably in terms of road safety, compared to other major highways in Western Australia. Whilst making up two thirds of the state's National Highway network, it was the location of only half of all recorded fatalities for 2005–2009. For that period, the sections of the highway from Wubin to the Sandfire Roadhouse, north-east of Port Hedland, were considered by the Australian Automobile Association to be among the lowest risk highway links in the state. However, the section from Perth to Wubin was rated as medium risk, and the northern sections of the highway were rated medium-high and high risk. In 2013, Great Northern Highway received a similar rating, still higher overall than the other highways. Out of five stars, 21% was rated as one- or two-star, and 79% was rated three- or four-star, with the southern and northern ends of the highway generally less safe than the portion from Wubin to the Sandfire Roadhouse.