TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

In 2007, the rate of fatalities and injuries due to traffic accidents across the Northern Territory (NT) increased slightly from 49 fatalities and injuries per 10 000 population in 2006 to 51 fatalities and injuries per 10 000 population in 2007. However, the rate of road traffic accidents across the NT showed a slight decrease over the same period from 105 per 10 000 population in 2006 to 101 per 10 000 population in 2007.

In 2007, fatalities from road traffic accidents occurred at a rate of 3 per 10 000 population and non fatal injuries at a rate of 48 per 10 000 population. In 2006, rates of 2 fatalities per 10 000 population and 47 injuries per 10 000 population were observed.

Drivers of motor vehicles and passengers in motor vehicles accounted for the majority (78%) of those injured in road traffic accidents. Pedestrians and pedal cyclists accounted for 12% of those injured in traffic accidents, and motorcyclists accounted for 9%. Collisions between moving vehicles accounted for 51% of accidents, while vehicle roll overs and vehicles that ran off the road accounted for 34% of accidents.

There was a large variation in accident rates across regions. For example, the highest road traffic accident rate of 164 per 10 000 population occurred in the Finniss region, which also had the highest non fatal injury rate of 105 per 10 000 population. The lowest motor vehicle accident rate of 27 per 10 000 population was at Bathurst-Melville. The lowest non fatal injury rate of 31 per 10 000 population was in East Arnhem. The East Arnhem, Finniss, Bathurst-Melville and Palmerston-East Arm regions had no fatalities recorded in 2007.

Injuries resulting from road traffic accidents generally occurred at a higher rate in more remote regions than the urban regions of Darwin City and Palmerston-East Arm. For example, Daly and Finniss had rates of non fatal injuries caused by road traffic accidents of 103 and 105 injuries per 10 000 population respectively, whilst Darwin City and Palmerston-East Arm had rates of 39 and 42 injuries per 10 000 population respectively.

During 2007, the proportion of accidents involving multiple vehicles was higher in urbanised regions than in remote regions. In Darwin City, accidents involving collision, including striking a parked vehicle, totalled 70% of all accidents. In the Litchfield region this figure was 47%, and in Barkly it was 15%.

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