Fwd: The most dangerous city... [summarised]

November 05 2008 at 06:51AM

By Louise Flanagan

You are more likely to die on the roads in Joburg than anywhere else in
South Africa, but Cape Town is the most unsafe city.

That's what this year's Medical Research Council report on
injury-related deaths reveals.

The National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) report is
produced every year and is based on information from mortuaries, state
forensic chemistry laboratories and courts. It counts non-natural deaths.

The report, released today, estimates that 43 out of every 100 000
people in Joburg died on the roads last year.

That means the chances of dying on the roads in Joburg are higher than
the chances of being murdered in Gauteng - police statistics estimated
that 38 people per 100 000 were murdered in the province last year.

"With an injury mortality rate of 144,9 deaths per 100 000 population,
as well as a violence rate of 63,5 per 100 000, Cape Town is the most
unsafe among the four largest cities," the report states.

Suicide rates are also highest in Joburg, at 14 per 100 000 people.

The police, using reported crimes nationwide, counted about 18 500
murders last year.

* *This article was originally published on page 3 of **The Star*
<http://www.thestar.co.za/>* on November 05, 2008 *