There were three road fatalities in the third quarter of 2010, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.
In the third quarter, the number of reported traffic accidents reached 3,167, a decrease of 252 cases over the corresponding quarter last year. Decreases were recorded in all districts except the South Eastern and Western, with the biggest percentage decrease (11.5 per cent) occurring in the Northern Harbour district, which also accounted for the highest number of accidents – 1,113 cases, or 35.1 per cent of the total.
In the quarter under review, 277 traffic casualties were reported, of which 168 involved drivers. There were two fatalities among drivers, while 137 injuries in this group were slight and another 29 were reported as grievous. During this period 22 other persons (14 passengers and eight pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries, while 86 (66 passengers and 20 pedestrians) were slightly injured. The injuries suffered by one passenger proved fatal.
On a gender basis, slightly injured persons in the third quarter numbered 223: 127 males and 96 females. Grievously injured persons totalled 51, the majority being males. The fatalities in the quarter under review comprised one man and two women. The majority of male and female casualties were in the 25-39 age bracket.
Passenger cars were the cause of 75.5 per cent of traffic casualties, followed by motorcycles at 13.7 per cent; nine per cent of accidents were caused by goods-carrying vehicles.
In the third quarter, the highest traffic casualty rate occurred on Mondays and Thursdays, both accounting for 15.9 per cent of total casualties. The highest accident rate was recorded on Fridays, totalling 577 cases, and the lowest on Sundays, with 275 cases. However, Sundays topped the highest casualty-to-accident ratios. The daily time bracket in which most accidents occur is between 9am and 11.59am, with 723 cases, or 22.8 per cent of the total. This is closely followed by the noon-2.59pm time bracket, with 721 cases. The lowest number of accidents happened between 3am and 5.59am. In the period under review, Birkirkara registered the highest number of traffic accidents, with 188 cases. St Paul’s Bay and Marsa were next, with 178 and 172 reported accidents respectively.