3 - All transport deaths

Summary

This category includes all deaths that are related to transport, whether on the roads, on the railways, in the air or on the water.

Mortality rates due to collisions in or with vehicles, in the vast majority of cases cars, are least frequent in those cities where, due to congestion and speed restrictions, cars travel most slowly. Especially in London, there are fewer car-miles being travelled per person. Thus London, the Welsh valleys, many south coast towns, the West Midlands, the cities of the north west, Sheffield and Newcastle all show up clearly as being places where mortality rates from transport-related injuries are on average lower.

The far north of Scotland where there are many miles of road, and the outer Home Counties ring of England, where there are the most cars per head and less congestion than in the inner cities, stand out in contrast as having transport related mortality rates elevated considerably above the national average.

The age–sex bar chart clearly indicates that males are at a higher risk of this cause of death than females. This higher risk for males starts in childhood (ages 5–9) and is most marked in the 15–24 year old age group – the age at which young people start to drive and to have motor bikes; this may make a fatal combination with alcohol consumption.