§ 71. Sir B. Jannerasked the Minister of Transport what information he has about the main reasons for the increase in road accidents in the month of January, 1965; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Tom FraserThe number of road casualties in January this year exceeded those in January, 1964, by 12 per cent. The estimated increase in motor traffic over the same period was 8 per cent. The main factor was a rise in casualties of 18 per cent. among users of cars and other motor vehicles with three or more wheels, associated with an estimated increase of 9 per cent. in their mileage.
However, inferences about trends based on the casualty figures for a single month may be misleading. Taking January and February this year together, road casualties have increased by 6 per cent. compared with the same period in 1964, while motor traffic has also increased by 6 per cent.