[Mortality in accidents in Spain: contrast of various statistical series]

The data on deaths due to accidents in Spain during the period 1975-79 is analyzed and compared according to three routine sources of information: death certificates, codified, tabulated and presented by the National Statistics Institute (INE): traffic accident reports from the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT): and work-related accidents according to reports drawn up by the National Institute of Job Health and Safety. The comparison reveals that the data from death certificates are not useful for studying work-related accidents in Spain. As for traffic accidents, the death statistics bulletins offer a more thorough coverage, especially for children and elderly persons; nevertheless, the detailed reporting of the circumstances surrounding the accidents and the earliness with which this data is made available make it advisable to use the data from the General Directorate of Traffic for monitoring the overall tendencies of traffic accidents and for evaluating the effects of the prevention programmes. However, the death statistics bulletins permit the formulation of more thorough estimates of the population base and diverse areas of the country with regard to deaths caused by accidents.