There were two fatalities in the fourth quarter of last year, a man and a woman.

The National Statistics Office said reported traffic accidents reached 3,632, an increase of 264 cases over the same quarter in 2013. Increases were recorded in most districts. The northern harbour registered the most accidents - 1,400, or 38.5 per cent of the total.

Reported traffic casualties numbered 408, of which 255 involved drivers. In this group, 216 injuries were slight and another 39 were grievous. A total 32 other persons (nine passengers and 23 pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries, while 119 (56 passengers and 63 pedestrians) were slightly injured.  The injuries suffered by two pedestrians proved fatal.

On a gender basis, the 335 slightly-injured persons were divided into 183 males and 152 females.

The majority of casualties were in the 25-39 age bracket. A total 70.8 per cent of accidents were caused by passenger cars, followed by motorcycles at 17.6 per cent; 9.8 per cent were caused by goods-carrying vehicles.

The highest traffic casualty rate occurred on Saturdays, accounting for 15.7 per cent of total casualties. The highest accident rate was recorded on Tuesdays, totalling 593 cases, and the lowest on Sundays, with 330 cases.

Sunday, however, registered the highest casualty-to-accident ratio. The daily time bracket in which most accidents occurred was between 9 and 11.59am, with 809 cases, or 22.3 per cent of the total.

In 2014, the total number of recorded accidents totalled 14,473, an increase of 2.9 per cent over 2013.

Last year there were 1,796 persons (1,022 males and 774 females) who sustained injuries in traffic accidents. Six men and four women lost their lives.