Traffic accidents in 2017 down in Malta, up in Gozo

The number of road traffic accidents have gone down in Malta in 2017 when compared to 2016, however there has been an increase in the number of accident in the sister island of Gozo.

While Malta had 14,098 traffic accidents in 2017, almost 150 less than the 14,244 which took place the previous year, Gozo saw an increase of around 70 accidents - 842 in 2017 compared to 773 in 2016, National Statistics Office figures show.

The vast majority of accidents on both islands were classified as ‘minor’, with Malta having had 12,703 such accidents in 2017, less than the 12,889 in 2016, while Gozo had more minor accidents in 2017, 746, than the 691 which happened in 2016.

The trend continues when it comes to road accidents involving ‘casualties’, defined as accidents when those involved suffered some type of injury, with Malta seeing a miniscule drop from 1,742 in 2016 to 1,741 the next year, and Gozo having an rise from 110 to 121.

Number of fatalities down in 2017

There were four less fatalities on our roads in 2017 - 19, compared to the 23 in 2016.

May was the month within which the greatest number of traffic accidents happened last year, with 1,405, however March saw the greatest number of fatalities, 4.

The least number happened in February, 1,055, but this included one fatality.

April, September and December were the only months where no traffic fatalities occurred last year.