Taxis most likely to be in accidents with casualties

According to a study, Israeli vehicles are involved in traffic accidents at an average rate of 12.3 accidents per 1,000 vehicles.

By RON FRIEDMAN
Traffic jam on Ayalon 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
Traffic jam on Ayalon 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
Of the 2.46 million motor vehicles in Israel at the end of 2009, taxis were most likely to be involved in serious accidents, according to a survey compiled by the Central Bureau of Statistics and released on Thursday.
With a population of roughly seven million people, the ratio works out to 326 vehicles per 1,000 people, placing Israel substantially below other developed countries. The United States, which leads the ranking of vehicles per population, has more than 800 vehicles per 1,000 people. Japan has roughly 600 and Denmark 500.
Nearly 1.95 million of all vehicles in Israel are private cars. In Israel there are 350,000 trucks, 110,000 motorcycles, 18,600 taxis, 14,100 buses and 15,300 minibuses.
According to the study, Israeli vehicles are involved in traffic accidents at an average rate of 12.3 accidents per 1,000 vehicles. The study showed that taxis were the type of vehicles most often involved in accidents with casualties, at a rate of 50 per 1,000 vehicles, followed by buses (40 per 1,000), heavy trucks (39.5) and motorcycles (30.8).
At 10.3 accidents per 1,000 vehicles, private cars were the type of vehicle least often involved in accidents with casualties.
According to the study, 39 percent of all vehicles in Israel were manufactured in Japan. Japan has been leading the list of vehicle manufacturing countries since the Central Bureau of Statistics began tracking vehicle origins in 2003. Following Japan are Korea (11.4%), Spain (8.7%), France (8.5%), Germany (7.1%) and Italy and the United States, each representing 3.6% of vehicles in Israel.
In 2009, 236,500 new vehicles were added to Israel’s roads and 168,300 were removed, working out to an increase of 2.9% compared to 2008.
The study showed that of the new cars added in 2009, the most popular make, making up 18.7%, was Japanese manufacturer Mazda. Other popular manufacturers were Hyundai (12.2%), Toyota (11.3%), Chevrolet (6.7%), Ford (6.5%), Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen and Suzuki.
The average vehicle in Israel in 2009 was 6.9 years old. Forty-two percent of vehicles were new (less than four years on the road), 27% were between 5-9 years old and 31% were more than 10 years old.
Motor vehicles accounted for 94% of carbon monoxide emissions in Israel and 28% of nitrogen oxide emissions.
However, the study found that harmful emissions were constantly decreasing over time due to technological improvements to vehicles.