Accident rate high but injury rate low in Sharon, survey finds

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Residents of the Sharon area are more likely than residents of any other area in Israel to be involved in car accidents but are less likely to be injured in those accidents, according to a survey by the Or Yarok road safety organization. The survey also found that virtually all those involved in car accidents in the Sharon were drivers or passengers, unlike other areas, where a significant portion of those involved in car accidents were pedestrians, reports www.local.co.il. According to the report, Or Yarok questioned 1,000 people from around Israel in December 2008 on their involvement in traffic accidents over the past five years. Some 22.4 percent of those in the Sharon area said they had been involved in an accident, compared with 19.3% in Jerusalem, 18.3% in the South and 17.3% in the center. But questioned whether there had been injuries from the accidents, only 14.9% of Sharon residents said there had, compared with 15.4% in the south, 17.7% in the center, 23.4% in the North and 36% in Jerusalem. The report suggested that the injury rate was higher when pedestrians were involved in accidents, and also when accidents occurred on high-speed intercity roads. In the Sharon, 90% of those involved in accidents were drivers and the remaining 10 percent were passengers, with virtually no pedestrians involved. In Jerusalem, by contrast, 6.5% of those involved in accidents were pedestrians. In the north, more than 20% of those questioned said there had been three or more injuries from one accident. No further details were reported.