The number of reported traffic accidents in the fourth quarter of last year reached 3,533, an increase of 51 cases over the corresponding quarter in 2011, the NSO said today.
There were four fatalities.
Increases were recorded in four districts, with the biggest percentage increase (12.9 per cent) recorded in the Northern district.
The Northern Harbour district registered the most accidents - 1,364 cases, or 38.6 per cent of the total.
CASUALTIES
384 traffic casualties were reported, of which 221 involved drivers.
There were two fatalities among drivers, while 181 injuries in this group were slight and another 38 were reported as grievous. During the period under review 38 other persons (20 passengers and 18 pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries, while 123 (88 passengers and 35 pedestrians) were slightly injured.The injuries suffered by two pedestrians proved fatal.
On a gender basis, slightly-injured persons in the fourth quarter numbered 304: 170 males and 134 females. Grievously-injured persons totalled 76, the majority being males. The fatalities in the quarter involved three males and a female. The majority of casualties were in the 25-39 age bracket.
64.3 per cent of traffic casualties were caused by passenger cars, followed by motorcycles at 16.4 per cent; 10.4 per cent were caused by coaches and buses.
The highest traffic casualty rate occurred on Saturdays, accounting for 18.5 per cent of total casualties.
The highest accident rate was recorded on Mondays totalling 578 cases, and the lowest on Sundays, with 384 cases, even though the latter day topped the highest casualty-to-accident ratio.
In the period under review, Birkirkara continued to register the highest rate of traffic accidents, with 241 cases. Hal Qormi and Paola were next, with 212 and 165 reported accidents respectively (Chart 5).
In the whole of 2012, the total number of recorded accidents totalled 14,546, an increase of two per cent over 2011. The Northern Harbour district registered the highest number of traffic accidents with 5,481 cases, or 37.7 per cent of the total.
Last year there were 1,599 persons (954 males and 645 females) who suffered injuries due to traffic accidents, of which nine cases (seven males and two females) proved fatal.
In 2012, 73.7 per cent of casualties were caused by passenger cars while 14.5 per cent were caused by motorcycles.
The highest number of traffic accidents occurred in Birkirkara with 914 cases, or 6.3 per cent of the total. al Qormi and Marsa were next, with 862 and 714 reported accidents respectively.