China's Ministry of Public Security Monday have attributed a
70-day campaign on road safety with reducing the road death toll by
3,900 last year.
The campaign, which started on Oct. 20 with focus on drink
driving, speeding, fatigue driving and overloading, lowered China's
traffic death toll by 18.8 percent from a year earlier, according
to the ministry.
A total of 16,875 people were killed in traffic accidents from
Oct. 20 to Dec. 31 last year.
The number of people killed due to speeding dropped 27.7 percent
from the same period in 2005, deaths due to drink driving were down
34.5 percent and to fatigue driving were down 48.7 percent.
Vice Minister of Public Security Liu Jinguo said the number of
traffic accidents dropped 21.9 percent to 66,700 during the
campaign and people injured also dropped 18.6 percent to
70,434.
A total of 29.29 million traffic violations were reported during
the campaign and 23,000 people's driving licenses were revoked, Liu
said.
Liu said the ministry would continue to improve policing of road
safety in 2007 with a special focus on rural vehicles and
expressways.
Traffic accidents claimed 89,455 lives last year, 9.4 percent
less than 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)