During the first quarter of 2019, there was one road traffic fatality, the NSO said today.

The number of reported road traffic accidents in the first quarter this year reached 3,656, up by 8.4 per cent over the comparative period in 2018. The Northern Harbour district registered the largest share of all road traffic accidents with 1,375 cases or 37.6 per cent.

Road traffic casualties decreased by 3.0 per cent to a total of 360 over the same period in 2018. Grievously injured persons consisted of 30 drivers, six passengers and 23 pedestrians/other persons. The injuries suffered by one driver proved fatal. In comparison, the number of road traffic fatalities were three less than those recorded during the same quarter in 2018.  

When classified by gender, grievously injured persons totalled 59, the majority of whom were males (71.2 per cent).  The only recorded death was that of a man while the majority of casualties fell in the 26 to 40 age-bracket.

The largest number of road traffic casualties (63.1 per cent) involved passenger cars, followed by motorcycles (21.7 per cent) and goods-carrying vehicles (9.4 per cent).  The fatally injured person happened to be a passenger car driver. Four cyclists were hit but sustained only slight/insignificant injuries.  Road traffic casualties caused by collisions between vehicles topped the list with 68.9 per cent of the total.  

The highest road traffic casualty rate occurred on Tuesdays and Sundays with 61 casualties on both week days, while the highest number of road traffic accidents took place on Fridays with 600 cases or 16.4 per cent of the total. The time bracket during which most road traffic accidents occurred was between 09:00 and 11:59 with 821 cases or 22.5 per cent of the total, followed by the 12:00-14:59 time bracket with 779 cases. The least number of accidents occurring daily took place between 03:00 and 05:59 with 58 cases. 

The highest frequency of road traffi  c accidents was registered in Birkirkara with 320 cases. Ħal Qormi and Mosta were next, with 210 and 176 reported accidents respectively.