§ Sir J. D. REESasked the President of the Board of Trade what are the comparative figures of fatal and non-fatal railway accidents according to the latest available figures in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy?
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§ Mr. BURNSThe figures relating to fatal accidents are as follows. They relate to the year 1911, which is the last year for which statistics are published for any of the countries named except the United Kingdom. The figures for non-fatal accidents cannot be compared, as the definition of a non-fatal accident differs in almost every case. Thus for railway employés in the United Kingdom any accident involving one day's disablement is recorded; in Germany the prescribed time is fourteen days; in the United States it is three days out of the ten following the accident:—
Country. Number of Persons Killed in the Movement of Traffic. Passengers. Railwaymen. Others. Total. United Kingdom 106 390 359 855 United States* 353 3,282 6,850 10,485 France †26 407 ‡421 854 Germany 115 563 337 1,015 Austria 16 134 131 281 Italy 24 101 109 234 * 1911–12. †In train accident. ‡Includes passengers other than in train accidents. I may add that in 1913 the figures for the United Kingdom were: Passengers, 141; railway men, 420; others, 357; total, 918. There are no foreign statistics with which to compare these figures.
Note.—In certain countries an accident is not classified as fatal unless death ensues within twenty-four hours of the accident.