6 August 2021 | 1100 hrs | 142/2021

During the second quarter of 2021, road traffic accidents and casualties increased when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Road traffic fatalities amounted to one.

Road Traffic Accidents: Q2/2021

The number of reported traffic accidents during second quarter 2021 reached 3,594, up by 59.4 per cent over the same period in 2020. The Northern Harbour district registered the most accidents with 1,268 cases or 35.3 per cent of all accidents (Table 1).

Road traffic casualties increased by 85.0 per cent to 418 over the same period in 2020. Grievously injured persons amounted to 96, and consisted of 65 drivers, 12 passengers and 19 pedestrians/ cyclists/other. The injuries suffered by one driver proved fatal (Tables 4-6). During this quarter, four less fatalities occurred when compared to the same period in 2020 (Chart 1).

The majority of those grievously injured were males (77.1 per cent). Moreover, the fatality that occurred during this quarter also involved a male. Most of the casualties (62.2 per cent) involved persons in the 26 to 59 age-bracket (Table 5).

Chart 1. Road traffic accidents by month

1,600 8

1,400 7

1,200 6

1,000 5

800 4

600 3 road traffic fatalities traffic road road trafficaccidents road 400 2

200 1

0 0 JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJ Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 2019 2020 2021 period Accidents Fatalities (refer to right axis)

Statistics in this News Release should be interpreted in the context of the COVID-19 situation.

KindlyCompiled indicate by: Regional,source when Geospatial, quoting from Energy this release. and Transport Statistics Unit 1 TheContact advance us: release National calendar Statistics may beOffice, consulted Lascaris, at www.nso.gov.mt VLT 2000 Issued by: Dissemination T. +356 25997219, Unit, National E. [email protected] Statistics Office, Lascaris, Valletta VLT 2000, . T. +356 https://twitter.com/NSOMALTA/ 2599 7219 F. +356 2599 7205 E. https://www.facebook.com/nsomalta/ [email protected] The largest number of road traffi c casualties (55.7 per cent) involved passenger cars, followed by motorcycles (33.5 per cent) and goods-carrying vehicles (6.0 per cent). The fatality comprised of a driver hitting a property. Cyclists hit in traffi c accidents amounted to eight, of whom one suff ered grievous injuries (Table 6). Road traffi c casualties resulting from accidents between vehicles topped the list with 70.3 per cent of all road traffi c casualties (Table 7).

The highest number of road traffi c casualties occurred on Saturdays with 75 casualties, while the highest number of road traffi c accidents occurred on Thursdays with 575 cases or 16.0 per cent of the total (Table 8). The time bracket during which most road traffi c accidents occurred was between 12:00 and 14:59 with 851 cases or 23.7 per cent of the total, followed by the 09:00-11:59 time bracket with 800 cases. The least number of accidents occurring daily took place between 03:00 and 05:59 with 35 cases (Table 9).

Highest incidence of road traffi c accidents was registered in with 252 cases, followed by Ħal and Il-, with 207 and 196 cases respectively (Table 10, Map 1 and Chart 5).

Four localities in the and Comino district registered less than fi ve road traffi c accidents each, while the locality of Ta’ Kerċem reported no traffi c accidents during the second quarter of 2021. Fontana, L-Għarb and reported one accident each (Map 1 and Table 10).

Map 1. Road traffi c accidents by locality: April-June 2021

2 All districts recorded an increase in road traffic accidents when compared to the second quarter of the previous year. The Northern district registered the highest percentage increase in road traffic accidents at 72.0 per cent, followed by the Northern Harbour and the Western districts (Table 1, Map 2).

Map 2. Net increase in road traffic accidents by district: April-June 2020/2021

3 Table 1. Total road traffic accidents by period and region/district

January-June April-June Region/District Percentage 2020 2021 2020 2021 Change change MALTA 5,612 6,458 2,255 3,594 1,339 59.4

Malta 5,293 6,082 2,109 3,381 1,272 60.3

Southern Harbour 1,175 1,131 477 652 175 36.7 Northern Harbour 1,910 2,291 739 1,268 529 71.6 South Eastern 598 672 242 370 128 52.9 Western 645 826 276 446 170 61.6 Northern 965 1,162 375 645 270 72.0

Gozo and Comino 319 376 146 213 67 45.9

Table 2. Non-injury road traffic accidents by period and region/district

January-June April-June Region/District Percentage 2020 2021 2020 2021 Change change MALTA 5,149 5,861 2,053 3,247 1,194 58.2

Malta 4,862 5,533 1,922 3,060 1,138 59.2

Southern Harbour 1,076 1,023 434 589 155 35.7 Northern Harbour 1,767 2,107 680 1,161 481 70.7 South Eastern 544 596 220 322 102 46.4 Western 601 760 255 406 151 59.2 Northern 874 1,047 333 582 249 74.8

Gozo and Comino 287 328 131 187 56 42.7

Table 3. Injury road traffic accidents by period and region/district

January-June April-June Region/District Percentage 2020 2021 2020 2021 Change change MALTA 463 597 202 347 145 71.8

Malta 431 549 187 321 134 71.7

Southern Harbour 99 108 43 63 20 46.5 Northern Harbour 143 184 59 107 48 81.4 South Eastern 54 76 22 48 26 118.2 Western 44 66 21 40 19 90.5 Northern 91 115 42 63 21 50.0

Gozo and Comino 32 48 15 26 11 73.3

4 9 6 4 7 1 8 79 53 43 44 22 33 89 75 16 13 14 20 17 13 24 55 54 72 67 46 73 37 252 274 123 381 418 ------1 6 2 1 5 5 2 1 2 1 3 3 1 1 3 3 1 3 8 ficant Total 10 10 18 18 - 9 5 5 1 6 6 7 59 36 15 29 36 72 58 13 14 23 15 16 33 32 15 47 90 57 28 51 30 183 198 273 303 2021 - - - 7 7 3 9 2 3 2 2 7 8 3 1 1 9 7 19 11 12 12 12 58 19 19 65 22 89 30 14 96 14 ------1 1 1 1 1 1 - 2 5 6 3 8 3 2 7 7 11 18 39 33 31 26 17 38 15 39 37 12 48 25 17 66 23 18 46 145 156 208 226 /district and road traffic unit: April-June ------1 4 4 1 3 1 4 1 1 1 1 3 1 2 1 6 1 1 5 10 11 15 16 - 8 3 1 1 2 5 2 3 8 4 3 9 21 18 14 26 12 19 35 21 20 10 39 18 44 16 12 27 106 114 144 156 2020 - - - 2 5 3 3 2 8 4 9 1 1 1 2 1 6 6 4 4 3 4 5 5 8 25 17 16 27 44 14 49 13 oad traffic units not listed above. ------1 1 4 2 1 4 1 1 5 1 2 5 1 1 Fatal Grievous Slight Insignificant Total Fatal Grievous Slight Insigni Table 4. Road traffic casualties by period, injury type, region South Eastern Southern Harbour Northern Harbour Western Southern Harbour Northern Northern Harbour South Eastern Western Northern Southern Harbour Northern Harbour South Eastern Western Northern Southern Harbour Northern Harbour South Eastern Western Northern Gozo and Comino Malta Gozo and Comino Malta Malta Gozo and Comino Malta Gozo and Comino MALTA MALTA MALTA ...of which cyclist (MALTA) MALTA PASSENGER PEDESTRIAN/CYCLIST/OTHER Region/District DRIVER TOTAL Note: The category "Other" refers to horse cabs and any other r

5 Table 5. Road traffic casualties by period, injury type, gender and age group: April-June

2020 2021 Age group Total Fatal Grievous Slight Insignificant Total Males 0-10 4 - 1 5 1 7 11-17 3 - 6 7 - 13 18-25 22 1 9 37 1 48 26-40 67 - 31 68 6 105 41-59 39 - 20 55 3 78 60-65 10 - 2 6 1 9 66+ 15 - 5 14 1 20 Total 160 1 74 192 13 280 Females 0-10 1 - 1 2 - 3 11-17 1 - 1 6 - 7 18-25 18 - 5 23 1 29 26-40 24 - 7 31 2 40 41-59 12 - 4 31 2 37 60-65 7 - - 8 - 8 66+ 3 - 4 10 - 14 Total 66 - 22 111 5 138 Total 0-10 5 - 2 7 1 10 11-17 4 - 7 13 - 20 18-25 40 1 14 60 2 77 26-40 91 - 38 99 8 145 41-59 51 - 24 86 5 115 60-65 17 - 2 14 1 17 66+ 18 - 9 24 1 34 Total 226 1 96 303 18 418

Chart 2. Road traffic casualties by age group and gender: April-June 2021

120

100

80

60

40 road casualties road traffic

20

0 0-10 11-17 18-25 26-40 41-59 60-65 66+ age group Males Females

6 Table 6. Road traffic casualties by period, injury type, road traffic unit and vehicle type: April-June

2021 Road traffic unit Vehicle type Fatal Grievous Slight Insignificant Total Motorcycle/ E-Bicycle/ - 47 76 4 127 PA-Bicycle Quad & ATV - 2 1 - 3 Driver Passenger car 1 12 106 5 124 Goods-carrying vehicle - 4 13 1 18 Road Tractor - - 1 - 1 Unknown vehicle - - 1 - 1 Route Bus - - 2 - 2 Motorcycle/ E-Bicycle/ - 2 6 2 10 PA-Bicycle Passenger Quad & ATV - - 2 - 2 Passenger car - 9 54 3 66 Goods-carrying vehicle - 1 4 - 5 Unknown vehicle - - 4 - 4 Route Bus - 1 - - 1 Motorcycle/ E-Bicycle/ - - 1 1 2 PA-Bicycle Pedestrian Passenger car - 13 17 1 31 Goods-carrying vehicle - - 2 - 2 Special purpose vehicle - 1 - - 1 Unknown vehicle - 2 3 - 5 Motorcycle/ E-Bicycle/ - - 1 - 1 Cyclist PA-Bicycle Passenger car - 1 6 - 7 Other Passenger car - 1 3 1 5 Total 1 96 303 18 418 Note: The category "Other" refers to horse cabs and any other road traffic units not listed above.

Table 7. Road traffic casualties by period, injury type, road traffic unit and accident type: April-June

2021 Road traffic unit Accident type Fatal Grievous Slight Insignificant Total Vehicle with vehicle - 41 169 6 216 Vehicle with property 1 21 22 3 47 Driver Vehicle hit and run - 2 3 1 6 Vehicle with bicycle - 1 3 - 4 Vehicle with animal - - 1 - 1 Vehicle with vehicle - 8 61 5 74 Passenger Vehicle with property - 4 11 - 15 Vehicle with vehicle - 1 1 - 2 Pedestrian Vehicle with pedestrian - 15 22 2 39 Vehicle hit and run - 1 - - 1 Cyclist Vehicle with bicycle - 1 7 - 8 Vehicle with vehicle - - 2 - 2 Other Vehicle with pedestrian - - - 1 1 Vehicle with bicycle - 1 1 - 2 Total 1 96 303 18 418 Note: The category "Other" refers to horse cabs and any other road traffic units not listed above.

7 Table 8. Road traffic casualties and accidents by day of the week: April-June 2021

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Total

Road traffic casualties 58 61 68 51 56 75 49 418

Road traffic accidents 552 519 557 575 555 492 344 3,594

Casualties-to-accidents ratio (%) 10.5 11.8 12.2 8.9 10.1 15.2 14.2 11.6

Chart 3. Percentage distribution of road traffic casualities by day of the week: April-June 2021

Monday 11.7% 13.9% Tuesday

Wednesday 17.9% 14.6% Thursday 418 Friday

Saturday

13.4% 16.3% Sunday

12.2%

Note: Percentages may not add up due to rounding.

Table 9. Road traffic accidents by day of the week and time bracket: April-June 2021

Time bracket Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Total

00:00 - 02:59 6 5 3 7 5 9 16 51 03:00 - 05:59 7 5 2 8 4 5 4 35 06:00 - 08:59 91 78 84 73 83 38 20 467 09:00 - 11:59 118 99 124 113 136 130 80 800 12:00 - 14:59 132 131 115 141 131 125 76 851 15:00 - 17:59 124 116 135 134 107 85 54 755 18:00 - 20:59 58 69 74 75 65 66 66 473 21:00 - 23:59 16 16 20 24 24 34 28 162 Total 552 519 557 575 555 492 344 3,594

Chart 4. Road traffic accidents by time bracket and day of the week: April-June 2021 160

140

120

100

80

60 road road traffic accidents 40

20

0 00:00 - 02:59 - 00:00 05:59 - 03:00 08:59 - 06:00 11:59 - 09:00 14:59 - 12:00 17:59 - 15:00 20:59 - 18:00 23:59 - 21:00 02:59 - 00:00 05:59 - 03:00 08:59 - 06:00 11:59 - 09:00 14:59 - 12:00 17:59 - 15:00 20:59 - 18:00 23:59 - 21:00 02:59 - 00:00 05:59 - 03:00 08:59 - 06:00 11:59 - 09:00 14:59 - 12:00 17:59 - 15:00 20:59 - 18:00 23:59 - 21:00 02:59 - 00:00 05:59 - 03:00 08:59 - 06:00 11:59 - 09:00 14:59 - 12:00 17:59 - 15:00 20:59 - 18:00 23:59 - 21:00 02:59 - 00:00 05:59 - 03:00 08:59 - 06:00 11:59 - 09:00 14:59 - 12:00 17:59 - 15:00 20:59 - 18:00 23:59 - 21:00 02:59 - 00:00 05:59 - 03:00 08:59 - 06:00 11:59 - 09:00 14:59 - 12:00 17:59 - 15:00 20:59 - 18:00 23:59 - 21:00 02:59 - 00:00 05:59 - 03:00 08:59 - 06:00 11:59 - 09:00 14:59 - 12:00 17:59 - 15:00 20:59 - 18:00 23:59 - 21:00 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

time bracket/day of the week

8 Table 10. Road traffic accidents by period and district/locality …

January-June April-June District/Locality 2020 2021 2020 2021 Change

Southern Harbour 1,175 1,131 477 652 175 Bormla 34 29 12 13 1 Il- 122 130 58 81 23 55 57 16 32 16 Ħal 153 173 51 99 48 Ħal 105 113 40 58 18 Ħaż-Żabbar 134 163 63 101 38 Il- 18 10 7 7 - Il-Marsa 242 188 110 96 -14 Raħal Ġdid 175 158 69 97 28 Santa Luċija 29 8 7 5 -2 L-Isla 13 14 6 12 6 Valletta 58 59 24 34 10 Il- 28 22 12 13 1 Ix-Xgħajra 9 7 2 4 2

Northern Harbour 1,910 2,291 739 1,268 529 Birkirkara 486 463 209 252 43 Il-Gżira 124 163 47 97 50 Ħal Qormi 309 376 129 207 78 Il-Ħamrun 146 161 60 97 37 L-Imsida 128 185 38 101 63 Pembroke 30 25 4 11 7 San Ġwann 171 216 59 111 52 Santa Venera 96 134 33 79 46 San Ġiljan 124 148 43 77 34 Is- 69 110 32 63 31 Ta' Xbiex 22 34 10 19 9 Tal-Pietà 65 68 21 36 15 Tas- 140 208 54 118 64

South Eastern 598 672 242 370 128 Birżebbuġa 82 98 28 49 21 Il- 69 55 21 37 16 Ħal Għaxaq 51 37 24 22 -2 Ħal 21 37 9 22 13 Ħal Safi 10 17 3 6 3 77 126 30 78 48 18 25 8 18 10 L-Imqabba 27 23 14 13 -1 Il- 24 22 9 9 - Iż-Żejtun 153 153 68 79 11 Iż-Żurrieq 66 79 28 37 9

Western 645 826 276 446 170 Ħad- 14 29 4 14 10 Ħal 49 51 13 25 12 Ħal 53 61 24 38 14 Ħ' 172 216 66 106 40 Ħaż-Żebbuġ 112 158 52 86 34 L- 41 39 19 25 6 L-Imdina 2 11 1 7 6 L-Imtarfa 12 17 2 8 6 Ir-Rabat 124 162 65 89 24 Is-Siġġiewi 66 82 30 48 18 9 … Table 10. Road traffic accidents by period and district/locality

January-June April-June District/Locality 2020 2021 2020 2021 Change

Northern 965 1,162 375 645 270 Ħal Għargħur 48 41 15 22 7 Il-Mellieħa 122 148 57 77 20 L-Imġarr 45 84 20 51 31 Il-Mosta 252 327 88 196 108 In- 259 271 100 136 36 San Pawl Il-Baħar 239 291 95 163 68

Gozo and Comino 319 376 146 213 67 Il-Fontana 7 5 3 1 -2 Għajnsielem and Comino 39 46 17 26 9 L-Għarb 9 5 8 1 -7 L-Għasri 5 3 3 2 -1 Il- 9 14 2 9 7 In- 24 34 10 18 8 Il-Qala 8 14 6 11 5 San Lawrenz 3 2 2 1 -1 Ta' Kerċem 6 3 3 - -3 Ta' 7 9 3 5 2 Ir-Rabat 100 113 42 64 22 Ix-Xagħra 20 33 8 17 9 Ix- 54 68 24 38 14 Iż-Żebbuġ 28 27 15 20 5 Total 5,612 6,458 2,255 3,594 1,339

Chart 5. Top 10 localities for road traffic accidents: April-June 2021

Birkirkara [7.0%] 252

Ħal Qormi [5.8%] 207

Il-Mosta [5.5%] 196

San Pawl Il-Baħar [4.5%] 163

In-Naxxar [3.8%] 136

locality Tas-Sliema [3.3%] 118

San Ġwann [3.1%] 111

Ħ Attard [2.9%] 106

Ħaż-Żabbar [2.8%] 101

L-Imsida [2.8%] 101

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

road traffic accidents

10 Graphical Illustration of MALTA by NUTS Classification

Districts classification

Southern Harbour Bormla; Il-Fgura; Floriana; Ħal Luqa; Ħaż-Żabbar; Il-Kalkara; Il-Marsa; Raħal Ġdid; Santa Luċija; L-Isla; Ħal Tarxien; Valletta; Il- Birgu; Ix-Xgħajra.

Northern Harbour Birkirkara; Il-Gżira; Ħal Qormi; Il-Ħamrun; L-Imsida; Pembroke; San Ġwann; Santa Venera; San Ġiljan; Is-Swieqi; Ta’ Xbiex; Tal- Pietà; Tas-Sliema.

South Eastern Birżebbuġa; Il-Gudja; Ħal Għaxaq; Ħal Kirkop; Ħal Safi; Marsaskala; Marsaxlokk; L-Imqabba; Il-Qrendi; Iz-Żejtun; iz-Żurrieq.

Western Ħad-Dingli; Ħal Balzan; Ħal Lija; Ħ'Attard; Ħaż-Żebbuġ; L-Iklin; L-Imdina; L-Imtarfa; Ir-Rabat; Is-Siġġiewi.

Northern Ħal Għargħur; Il-Mellieħa; L-Imġarr; Il-Mosta; In-Naxxar; San Pawl Il-Baħar.

Gozo and Comino Il-Fontana; Għajnsielem and Comino; L-Għarb; L-Għasri; Il-Munxar; In-Nadur; Il-Qala; San Lawrenz; Ta' Kerċem; Ta' Sannat; Ir- Rabat; Ix-Xagħra; Ix-Xewkija; Iż-Żebbuġ.

11 Graphical Illustration of MALTA by LAU2 Classification

Key

1 Valletta 18 Floriana 35 Marsaskala 52 San Ġiljan 2 L-Imdina 19 Il-Fontana 36 Marsaxlokk 53 San Ġwann 3 Il-Birgu 20 Il-Gudja 37 Il-Mellieħa 54 San Lawrenz 4 L-Isla 21 Il-Gżira 38 L-Imġarr 55 San Pawl Il-Baħar 5 Bormla 22 Għajnsielem and Comino 39 Il-Mosta 56 Ta' Sannat 6 Ħal Qormi 23 L-Għarb 40 L-Imqabba 57 Santa Luċija 7 Ħaż-Żebbuġ 24 Ħal Għargħur 41 L-Imsida 58 Santa Venera 8 Ħaż-Żabbar 25 L-Għasri 42 Il-Munxar 59 Tas-Sliema 9 Is-Siġġiewi 26 Ħal Għaxaq 43 In-Nadur 60 Is-Swieqi 10 Iż-Żejtun 27 Il-Ħamrun 44 In-Naxxar 61 Ta' Xbiex 11 Ir-Rabat, Għawdex 28 L-Iklin 45 Raħal Ġdid 62 Ħal Tarxien 12 Ħ'Attard 29 Il-Kalkara 46 Pembroke 63 Ix-Xagħra 13 Ħal Balzan 30 Ta' Kerċem 47 Tal-Pieta' 64 Ix-Xewkija 14 Birkirkara 31 Ħal Kirkop 48 Il-Qala 65 Ix-Xgħajra 15 Birżebbuġa 32 Ħal Lija 49 Il-Qrendi 66 Iż-Żebbuġ, Għawdex 16 Ħad-Dingli 33 Ħal Luqa 50 Ir-Rabat, Malta 67 Iż-Żurrieq 17 Il-Fgura 34 Il-Marsa 51 Ħal Safi 68 L-Imtarfa

12 Methodological Notes

1. Road traffic accidents data is compiled from administrative information provided by the Police Department and the Malta Insurance Association (Guard and Warden Service House Limited). 2. Definitions: a. Total road traffic accidents consist of the road traffic accidents involving casualties (Police reports) and the minor road traffic accidents without casualties (Police and Warden reports).

b. Non-injury (minor) road traffic accidents refer to accidents assessed by Wardens and/or the Police involving at least one vehicle and in which no persons are injured. Non-injury road traffic accidents which are either not reported or directly reported to Insurance Agencies by means of the Traffic Accident Form (i.e. where no Police or Wardens are called on the accident scene and are settled by the completion of the relevant form) are not accounted for.

c. Insignificant injury is determined by the Police as the sustaining of a very minimal injury (e.g. bruise, scratch, etc.) or shock due to accident which, in most cases, requires very basic treatment or no treatment at all. d. The definition of slight injury is as listed in Art. 221 et sequitur of the Criminal Code, Chapter 9 of the Laws of Malta: https://legislation.mt/eli/cap/9/eng/pdf e. The definition of grievous injury is as listed in Art. 216 et sequitur of the Criminal Code, Chapter 9 of the Laws of Malta: https://legislation.mt/eli/cap/9/eng/pdf f. UNECE defines road fatal injury as: "Any person who was killed outright or who died within 30 days as a result of the accident". 3. The casualty-to-accident ratio indicates the risk level of suffering an injury in an accident. Therefore, a higher percentage rate means that the corresponding accidents were more serious (i.e. more persons were injured). 4. Data is subject to revision. 5. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at: Sources and Methods: https://nso.gov.mt/en/nso/Sources_and_Methods/Unit_B3/Environment_Energy_Transport_and_Agriculture_Statistics/P ages/Road-Traffic-Accidents.aspx Statistical Concepts: https://metadata.nso.gov.mt/ConceptDetails.aspx?id=15 LAU Classification: https://metadata.nso.gov.mt/classificationdetails.aspx?id=Districts%20(Local%20Administrative%20Unit) NUTS: https://metadata.nso.gov.mt/classificationdetails.aspx?id=NUTS 6. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. 7. A detailed news release calendar is available on: https://nso.gov.mt/en/News_Releases/Release_Calendar/Pages/News-Release-Calendar.aspx

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