Road accidents

Purpose and short description Statbel has been compiling statistics on road accidents since 1 July 1926. These statistics are based on a form that must be completed by the police services in the event of any accident on the road claiming casualties. Over time, this form has been adapted several times according to the evolution of society and road phenomena. Survey population Road traffic accidents with personal injury in Belgium which resulted in a police report. Data collection method and sample size Administrative data : on-site police records and investigation by prosecutors. Périodicité Annuel Release calendar Availability of results: 6 months after the reference period. Definitions Accident: an accident between two or more road users is considered as one accident. Only accidents on public roads and claiming casualties are included in these statistics. Are therefore excluded: collisions and accidents on private property or at sports events. Accidents with material damage only are no longer included since 1973. Death 30 days: any person who died on the scene or within 30 days after the accident. Serious casualty: any person injured in a road accident whose condition requires hospitalisation of more than 24 hours. Light casualty: any person injured in a road accident who is not classified under fatal or serious casualty. Car: passenger cars; twin-purpose cars; minibuses; camping vehicles. Van: van Truck: truck, tractor + semi-trailers; tractor alone. Bus: bus; coach. Moped: moped A (two wheels), moped B (two wheels), moped with 3 or 4 wheels. Motorcycle: motorcycle not exceeding 400 cc, motorcycle exceeding 400 cc. Bicyle: bicycle Pedestrian:disabled person in a wheelchair; pedestrian with a two-wheeled vehicle; other pedestrian. Other: agricultural tractor; trolleybus; rider; carriage; other user; unknown, unavailable. Remarks Quality of the figures: Death data are the most reliable and stable data. Indeed, it is more than likely that a fatal accident will be the subject of police or prosecutorial intervention. Data on light casualties are most likely underestimated, especially for vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists). Belgian and international studies estimate the police registration rate at 90% for fatal accidents (data from prosecutors, however, allow us to improve these results). It is around 50% for casualties requiring hospitalisation and less than 20% for very light casualties (not requiring hospitalisation). Data from 2005 to 2017 have been revised by police services. Statbel updated its road accident data in June 2018. There is a large number of unknown data for some important variables (municipality, road conditions, and weather conditions, among others) between 2005 and 2017. It is less a problem for the most recent years. The most recent release always prevails.