3,562 new vehicles on the road in past three months

The number of licensed motor vehicles on Malta’s roads rose to 344,543 as of the end of September, an increase of 3,562 vehicles (1%) over the previous quarter.

National statistics show that 79.2% of the total number of licensed vehicles are passenger cars, 13.9% are commercial vehicles, and 5.7% are motorcycles. Buses and minibuses accounted for less than 1%.

New licences issued during the period under review amounted to 5,517. The majority of new licences (4,257 or 77.2% of the total) were issued to passenger cars, followed by motorcycles with 573. Newly-licensed ‘new’ motor vehicles amounted to 2,374, or 43% of the total, and newly licensed ‘used’ motor vehicles totalled 3,143 .

In a separate set of statistics, the NSO revealed that the number of reported traffic accidents between July and September reached 3,293, or a decrease of 13.4% over the corresponding quarter last year.

Decreases were recorded in all districts. The Northern Harbour district registered the majority of accidents, with 1,184, or 36% of all accidents.

In total, 463 traffic casualties were reported, of which 271 involved drivers. Only one traffic fatality was recorded.

Slight injuries in this group reached 231 and another 39 were reported as grievous. During this period, 53 other persons (23 passengers and 30 pedestrians) suffered grievous injuries, while 139 (97 passengers and 42 pedestrians) were slightly injured.

On a gender basis, slightly-injured persons in the third quarter numbered 370: 202 males and 168 females. Grievously-injured persons totalled 92, the majority being males. The fatality comprised one female. The majority of casualties fell in the 26-40 age bracket.

The largest number of traffic casualties (71.7%) involved passenger cars, followed by motorcycles (16.8%), while goods-carrying vehicles were involved in 8.2% of casualties.

The highest traffic casualty rate occurred on Fridays, accounting for 19% apiece of total casualties. The highest accident rate was also recorded on Fridays, totalling 554 cases, and the lowest on Sundays, with 326 cases. However, Sundays topped the highest casualty-to-accident ratio.  

The daily time bracket in which most accidents occurred was between 09:00 and 11:59, with 738 cases, or 22.4 per cent of the total. This was followed by the 12:00-14:59 time bracket, with 649 cases. The lowest number of accidents occurring daily took place between 03:00 and 05:59 (90 cases).

Birkirkara registered the highest rate of traffic accidents, with 242 cases, followed by St. Paul’s Bay and Ħal Qormi with 197 and 141 reported accidents respectively