More young people die in traffic accidents

Fourteen young people aged 15-24 have been killed in traffic accidents so far this year. Ten of them lost their lives in February.

A total of 46 person lost their lives in traffic accidents in the first two months of the year. This is 10 more than during the same period last year and three more than the average for the past 10 years.

Compared to January and February last year the number of 15 to 24-year-olds killed is nearly triple. The average for these two months in 1993-1997 was six deaths. Not since 1992 have there been so many fatalities in this age group. Of the 14 killed this year, six were motorists aged 18-23 and six were passengers aged 18-24. Seven of the young people lost their lives when their vehicle left the road, while five died in collisions.

Altogether 25 persons lost their lives on the roads in February. This is four more than the same month last year. The average figure in 1989-1997 was 21. In addition to the ten 15 to 24-year-olds killed last month, two children between the ages of seven and 14 lost their lives. Other fatalities included 12 persons aged 25-64 and one person over 64.

Preliminary figures show that 771 persons were injured in traffic accidents in the past month. The comparative casualty figure for February last year was 674. Altogether 1,535 were injured in the first two months of the year. The comparative figure for January and February 1997 was 1,514 casualties.

New Statistics

Road traffic accidents involving personal injury, February 1998.
Statistics are published every month in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and annually in Official Statistics of Norway (NOS) Road Traffic Accidents. For more information, contact: Aud-Marit Beck, tel. +47 62 88 54 20, e-mail: aud-marit.beck@ssb.no, or Asbjørn Wethal, tel. +47 62 88 54 15, e-mail: asbjørn.willy.wethal@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 13, 1998