Yediot Achronot’s Shachar Hazelkoren decided to take a deeper look into MVAs (motor vehicle accidents) in Eretz Yisrael in the hope of determining just how many people are really killed and injured R”L. According to official Israel Police statistics, 1,516 seriously injured accident victims were transported to 19 hospitals in the past year.

The hospitals however might be somewhat surprised to read the Israel Police statistic for if one checks the intake logs from those very same 19 hospitals, the number of seriously injured accident victims admitted during the same period is 3,500, twice the police statistic.

There are other discrepancies regarding data released by Israel Police, for example with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Israel Police reported that in 2012, there were a total of 18,930 accident victims transported to those same 19 hospitals. However, the CBS quoting hospitals reports that number stands at 20,296, which is 7% higher than the police report.

The National Road Safety Council is aware of the discrepancy, which it explains is the result of how police report and file traffic accidents. Officials add that police view an accident as serious if at least one person was injured and required a minimum hospital stay of 24 hours. Hospitals on the other hand use trauma scores and other means to determine the extent of injuries. The police rating is more administrative while the hospitals rating system is medical.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)