Seven people, including two pedestrians, lost their life in traffic accidents between October and December last year.
The National Statistics Offices said that in that period, the number of reported traffic accidents reached 4,362, which was 865 more than in the corresponding quarter the previous year.
Increases were recorded in all districts, with the biggest percentage increase occurring in the western district (46.4 per cent).
The northern harbour district registered the highest number of accidents: 1,684 cases, or 38.6 per cent of the total.
In the period under review, 242 traffic casualties were reported. Of these, 145 drivers sustained injuries: 115 and 26 drivers suffered slight and grievous injuries, respectively.
Four drivers lost their life. During this period, another 77 people (62 passengers and 15 pedestrians) suffered slight injuries, while 17 (six passengers and 11 pedestrians) were seriously injured.
A passenger and two pedestrians died as a result of their injuries.
The slightly injured were 104 males and 88 females, the majority of the 43 who suffered grievous injuries were men and the seven fatalities included five men. The majority of casualties were aged 25-39.
74.8 per cent of casualties were caused by passenger cars while 14 per cent were caused by motorcycles.
In this quarter, the highest traffic casualty rate was on Wednesdays, accounting for 17.8 per cent of total casualties. The highest accident rate was recorded on Fridays, totalling 692 cases, and the lowest was recorded on Sundays, with 456 cases.
However, Sundays topped the highest casualty-to-accident.
Most accidents took place between 9 and 11.59 a.m. (954, or 21.9 per cent), followed by the noon-2:59 p.m. bracket (866 cases). The lowest number of accidents took place between midnight and 2.59 a.m. (111 cases).
In the period under review, Birkirkara registered the highest rate of traffic accidents, with 281 cases. Marsa and Qormi followed, with 263 and 251 reported accidents, respectively.
In 2009, the number of recorded accidents totalled 14,877, a drop of less than one per cent over 2008. The northern harbour district registered the highest number of traffic accidents with 5,742 cases, or 38.6 per cent of the total.
Last year there were 1,069 people (642 males and 427 females) who suffered injuries due to traffic accidents, of which 21 cases (17 males and four females) proved fatal.
75.6 per cent of casualties were caused by cars while 13.6 per cent were caused by motorcycles.
The highest number of accidents in 2009 occurred in Birkirkara, totalling 914 cases, or 6.1 per cent of the total. Qormi and Marsa were next, with 853 and 818 reported accidents, respectively.