Birkirkara registered the highest rate of traffic accidents in 2011 with 921 cases, or 6.5 per cent of the total. Marsa and Qormi were next, with 808 and 792 reported accidents respectively.
The three towns border the main thouroughfares that connect the centre
Birkirkara alone had 229 cases in the last three months of 2011, data released by the National Statistics Office reveal, with Marsa and Msida next with 228 and 185 reported accidents respectively.
In 2011, recorded accidents totalled 14,264, an increase of 3.9 per cent over 2010. The Northern Harbour district registered the highest number of traffic accidents with 5,451 cases, or 38.2 per cent of the total.
Last year there were 1,577 persons (915 males and 662 females) who suffered injuries in traffic accidents, of which 17 cases (14 males and 3 females) proved fatal.
75.4 per cent of casualties were caused by passenger cars, while 14.1 per cent were caused by motorcycles.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the number of reported traffic accidents reached 3,482, an increase of 185 cases over the corresponding period in 2010. Increases were recorded in all districts, with the biggest percentage increase (15.1 per cent) occurring in the South Eastern district.
The Northern Harbour district registered the most accidents - 1,368 cases, or 39.3 per cent of
the total. In the period under review, 368 traffic casualties were reported, of which 237 involved drivers.
There were three fatalities among drivers, while 206 injuries in this group were slight and another 28 were reported as grievous. During this period 31 other persons (14 passengers and 17 pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries, while 99 (69 passengers and 30 pedestrians) were slightly injured.
Furthermore, the injuries suffered by one pedestrian proved fatal.
On a gender basis, slightly-injured persons numbered 305: 168 males and 137 females.
Grievously-injured persons totalled 59, the majority being males. All four fatalities in the quarter
were males. The majority of casualties were in the 25-39 age bracket. Almost 76.6 per cent of traffic casualties were caused by passenger cars, followed by motorcycles at 11.7 per cent; 8.7 per cent were caused by goods-carrying vehicles.
In the fourth quarter last year, the highest traffic casualty rate occurred on Saturdays, accounting for 17.9 per cent of the total. The highest accident rate was recorded on Fridays, totalling 586 cases, and the lowest on Sundays, with 362 cases. However, Saturdays topped the highest casualty-to-accident ratios.