Malta Has The Second Highest Rate Of Motorcyclist Deaths In The EU Despite Being ‘Safe’ For Everyday Drivers
Malta has the second-highest rate of motorcycle deaths in the entire European Union, Eurostat figures have revealed, despite the country being one of the safest for everyday drivers.
At a rate of 20 motorcycle deaths per million, only Greece recorded a higher rate at 20.1.
However, despite the worrying figures, the country ranks the absolute lowest in terms of deaths of passenger car drivers, standing at 11.1 deaths per million.
Last year, 18 people died on the roads in Malta, averaging at 38 deaths per million inhabitants — the fifth safest country in the bloc.
In terms of pedestrians and cyclists, Malta has a fatality rate of 17.4 deaths per million and 2.2 deaths per million, respectively.
On a broader EU level, the number of fatalities on the road has dropped considerably over the last twenty years, dropping over 40%.
It is worrying, though, that the number of fatalities is actually growing, with the ratio per capita increasing by 12.5% over a 20-year period. Malta is the only country to see an increase, while the entire bloc dropped by half on average.
Six people died on Malta’s roads in three months
The new Eurostat figures were published on the same day Malta’s statistics office published the road accident figures for the second quarter of the year.
Between April and June, six people died with 421 people suffering injury.
Standing at roughly 3,800, the total number of road accidents has dropped by 0.5%.
The highest number of road traffic accidents by locality was registered in Birkirkara with 312 cases. Ħal Qormi and St Paul’s Bay were next, with 215 and 178 reported accidents respectively.
Most accidents took place on a Thursday between 12:00 and 14:59.
Interestingly, the figures show that men account for 70% of severe injuries in road accidents.
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