During the first quarter of 2023, there were four road traffic fatalities, involving four males.
During the first quarter of 2023, road traffic accidents and casualties increased by 6.3 and 13.3 per cent respectively when compared to the same period in 2022.
In the first quarter of 2023, the highest number of road traffic accidents occurred on Thursdays with 621 cases or 16.2 per cent of the total.
Birkirkara registered the highest number of road traffic accidents at 271 cases.
The number of reported traffic accidents during the first quarter of 2023 reached 3,822, up by 6.3 per cent over the same period in 2022. The Northern Harbour district registered the most accidents with 1,369 cases or 35.8 per cent of all accidents (Table 1).
Road traffic casualties increased by 13.3 per cent to 367 over the same period in 2022. Grievously injured persons amounted to 96, and consisted of 52 drivers, eight passengers and 36 pedestrians/cyclists/others. The injuries suffered by one driver and three pedestrians proved fatal (Tables 4-6). During this quarter, five less fatalities occurred when compared to the same period in 2022 (Chart 1).
The majority of those grievously injured were males (77.1 per cent). Moreover, all the fatalities that occurred during this quarter involved males. 39.8 per cent of the casualties involved persons in the 26 to 40 age-bracket (Table 5).
Chart 1. Road traffic accidents and fatalities by period
The largest number of road traffic casualties (53.1 per cent) involved passenger cars, followed by motorcycles (34.6 per cent) and goods-carrying vehicles (6.5 per cent). The four fatalities included a vehicle colliding with another vehicle killing the driver, and three pedestrians being hit by a vehicle. Cyclists involved in traffic accidents amounted to eight, where six suffered slight injuries and two suffered grievous injuries (Tables 6-7). Road traffic casualties resulting from accidents between vehicles topped the list with 64.3 per cent of all road traffic casualties (Table 7).
The highest number of road traffic casualties occurred on Thursdays with 65 casualties, and the highest number of road traffic accidents also occurred on Thursdays with 621 cases or 16.2 per cent of the total (Table 8). The time bracket during which most road traffic accidents occurred was between 09:00 – 11:59 with 844 cases or 22.1 per cent of the total, followed by the 12:00 – 14:59 time bracket with 828 cases. The least number of accidents occurring daily took place between 03:00 – 05:59 with 60 cases (Table 9).
The highest incidence of road traffic accidents was registered in Birkirkara with 271 cases, followed by Ħal Qormi and Il-Mosta, with 220 and 183 cases respectively (Table 10, Map 1 and Chart 5).
L-Għarb, Il-Qala, L-Għasri, Ta’ Kerċem, Ix-Xgħajra, San Lawrenz and Il-Fontana registered less than five road traffic accidents. (Map 1 and Table 10).
Map 1. Road traffic accidents by locality: January-March 2023
The Gozo and Comino district recorded a decrease in road traffic accidents, while all the other districts recorded an increase, when compared to the first quarter of the previous year. The Northern district registered the highest percentage increase in road traffic accidents at 12.3 per cent, followed by the Northern Harbour district at 7.7 per cent (Table 1 and Map 2).