More than 78,000 traffic accidents in the first three months of
the year have claimed the lives of more than 18,000 people and
injured 93,000 others, the Ministry of Public Security said on
Monday.
The numbers of accidents were down 21.5 percent, deaths declined
13.2 percent and the number of people injured dropped 20.2 percent
compared with the same period in 2005, said the ministry.
Five serious traffic accidents - accidents involving the deaths
of ten or more - killed 79 people. The number of serious accidents
was five less than the same period of 2005, according to the
ministry.
Among the five serious traffic accidents, four were involved
buses. More than 68 percent of road accidents involved collisions
with other vehicles.
Speeding was the main cause of the motor vehicle accidents,
accounting for 14.4 percent of the death toll, according to the
ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2007)