Major decrease in fatalities

A total of 255 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in Norway in 1996. This is the lowest number since 1955.

Compared to the previous year, fatalities in the age group 20 to 24 were down 20 from last year. On the other hand, twice as many motorists between the ages of 70 and 79 were killed last year.

Seventeen children under the age of 15 lost their lives in traffic accidents in 1996, two fewer than in 1995.

Fifty-seven young people between the ages of 15 and 24 lost their lives last year, against 92 in 1995. In the last five years, an average of 89 people between the ages of 15 and 24 have been killed in car accidents. The biggest decline in the number of fatalities was seen in the 20 to 24 age bracket, with 20 fewer fatalities last year, compared with the previous year. Fatalities in the age groups 15-17 and 18-19 dropped by seven and eight respectively, compared to 1995.

Road traffic accidents involving personal injury, 1996.

Statistics are published every month in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and annually in the Official Statistics of Norway (NOS) Road Traffic Accidents. More information: Aud-Marit Beck, tel. +47 62 88 54 20, e-mail: amb@ssb.no or Jan Monsrud, tel. +47 62 88 54 07, e-mail: jam@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 21, 1997