Every year, the roads claim too many victims during the summer season despite concerted efforts by the government and the police to reduce the number of casualties. But while the numbers are still high for some, the recent stats made public by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec show a steady improvement.
For the first five months of 2009, road victims totaled 15,545, a drop of 6.3 percent from the same period last year and 13.1 percent from the average of the last five years. What’s less encouraging is that the months of April and May saw an increase of 6.7 and 10.7 percent, respectively.
It’s worth mentioning that there was a 0.6-percent increase in the number of serious injuries requiring hospital care. On the other hand, the good news is that 15.7 percent fewer people died as a result of a car accident.
As for minor injuries, a significant rise (11.2 percent) was reported for the month of May, from 2,985 in 2008 to 3,320 in 2009. Compared with the five-year average, though, the same month recorded a 7.1-percent drop.
Overall, from January through May 2009, 15,545 road users have suffered an accident --14,594 were slightly injured and 784 were seriously injured. A total of 167 people have died, which is 31 less than last year.
photo:Jupiter Images
For the first five months of 2009, road victims totaled 15,545, a drop of 6.3 percent from the same period last year and 13.1 percent from the average of the last five years. What’s less encouraging is that the months of April and May saw an increase of 6.7 and 10.7 percent, respectively.
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It’s worth mentioning that there was a 0.6-percent increase in the number of serious injuries requiring hospital care. On the other hand, the good news is that 15.7 percent fewer people died as a result of a car accident.
As for minor injuries, a significant rise (11.2 percent) was reported for the month of May, from 2,985 in 2008 to 3,320 in 2009. Compared with the five-year average, though, the same month recorded a 7.1-percent drop.
Overall, from January through May 2009, 15,545 road users have suffered an accident --14,594 were slightly injured and 784 were seriously injured. A total of 167 people have died, which is 31 less than last year.
photo:Jupiter Images