There were six traffic fatalities in the third quarter this year, compared to two in the corresponding period last year, the National Statistics Office said today.
In the third quarter, reported traffic accidents reached 3,555, at par with the corresponding period last year. Decreases were registered in three districts: the Southern Harbour, Northern Harbour and South Eastern.The latter registered the largest decrease (7 per cent).
In the period under review, 421 traffic casualties were reported, of which 251 involved drivers. Among this group there were 208 injuries which were slight and 39 were grievous. Furthermore, the injuries sustained by four male drivers proved fatal.
During the period under review, 23 other persons (seven passengers and 16 pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries, while 145 (94 passengers and 51 pedestrians) were slightly injured. The injuries sustained by two female pedestrians proved fatal.
On a gender basis, slightly-injured persons in the third quarter numbered 353: 209 males and 144 females. Grievously-injured persons totalled 62, the majority being males. Most casualties were in the 25-39 age group.
Table 8 shows that 73.2 per cent of traffic casualties were caused by passenger cars, followed by motorcycles at 14.5 per cent, while 7.6 per cent were caused by goods-carrying vehicles.
In the third quarter, the highest traffic casualty rate occurred on Mondays, accounting for 18.1 per cent of total casualties. The highest number of accidents was also recorded on Mondays, totalling 561 cases, and the lowest was recorded on Sundays, with 404 cases. Saturdays topped the highest casualty-to-accidents ratio.
The daily time bracket in which most accidents occur is between 12:00 and 14:59, with 783 cases, or 22.0 per cent of the total. This is followed by the 09:00-11:59 time bracket, with 741 cases. The least number of accidents occurring daily took place between 03:00 and 05:59 (112 cases).
In the period under review, Birkirkara registered the highest rate of traffic accidents, with 207 cases. St. Paul’s Bay and Hal Qormi were next, with 196 and 182 reported accidents respectively.