The National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education, also found that the total enrollment in distance learning courses across all post-secondary degree-granting institutions roughly doubled -- from 754, 000 to 1.6 million -- from 1995 to 1997-98.

CNN: fyi.com - Study: Public higher education embracing virtual classrooms

The head of Road Policing Development Branch, PSNI Superintendent Ian Hamill said the statistics failed to "convey the sheer misery and human tragedy inflicted upon the families of road victims and the community as a whole".

BBC: Slight fall in road fatalites