Eight traffic fatalities in third quarter of 2017

During the third quarter of 2017, there were eight road traffic fatalities, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

The number of reported traffic accidents in the third quarter reached 3,891, up by 1.9% over the comparative period in 2016. The Northern Harbour district registered the most accidents with 1,385 cases or 35.6% of all accidents.

Traffic casualties decreased by 2.1% to 502 over 2016, of which 299 (59.6%) involved drivers.

The amount of drivers who sustained slight/insignificant injuries was 259, while 40 cases were reported as grievous.

Another 35 persons (11 passengers, 24 pedestrians / cyclist / others) suffered grievous injuries.

There were also 102 passengers and 58 pedestrians/cyclist/others who were slightly/ insignificantly injured.

Furthermore, the injuries suffered by four passengers and four pedestrians were fatal. The total number of road traffic fatalities since the beginning of 2017 totals 17 at par with 2016 for the same period.

On a gender basis, slightly/insignificantly injured persons in the third quarter this year amounted to 419, 257 males and 162 females.

Grievously-injured persons totalled males.

The fatalities comprised of two males and six females. The majority of casualties fell in the 4159 age bracket.

The largest number of road traffic casualties were caused by passenger cars (63.1%), followed by motorcycles (23.7%) and goods-carrying vehicles (8.0%). Of the eight fatalities, six were caused by passenger cars and two by goods-carrying vehicles.

The highest road traffic casualty rate occurred on Mondays, accounting for 15.9% of total casualties, while the highest number of accidents was recorded on Wednesdays. Sundays topped the highest casualty-toaccidents ratio, with 17.0% compared to an overall average of 12.9%.

The daily time bracket in which most accidents occurred was between 09:00-11:59, with 864 cases, or 22.2% of the total. This was followed by the 12:0014:59 time bracket, with 832 cases. The least number of accidents occurring daily took place between 03:00 and 05:59 (89 cases).

The highest rate of traffic accidents was registered in Birkirkara with 312 cases. St. Paul’s Bay and Mosta were next, with 187 and 173 reported accidents respectively. 75, the majority being