Following the deaths of 90 people in nine major road accidents
in just over seven days, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security is
advising local authorities to improve road safety across the
country. .
The latest and largest accident occurred yesterday in Luliang
County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. A coach collided with a
minibus and resulted in the deaths of 21 people and 34 were
injured.?
Earlier yesterday another accident in Zhongning County,
northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, killed 12
people and injured 15 when a coach collided with a train at 2:45
PM. At press time the injured continued to receive treatment in
Zhongning People's Hospital. Investigations are under way.
Ministry figures show that the number of major road accidents
where at least five people had been killed reached 180 in the first
half of the year. This is up 8.4 percent over the same period last
year.
"Speeding and overloading are the major causes," Wang Jinbiao,
deputy-director of the ministry's traffic administrative bureau
said at a Beijing press conference yesterday.
Accidents caused by speeding or driving on the wrong side of the
road have claimed the lives of 12,790 people which accounts for
30.5 percent of the total deaths in the first half of the year.
Among the 26 most serious accidents, each of which killed at
least 10 people, speeding was the cause of 10 of the tragedies,
according to the ministry.
Dangerous road sections without safety barriers have also been
the locations of frequent accidents.?Nineteen out of the 26
fatal accidents involved vehicles coming off high roads.
To reduce the number of major road accidents in the rest of this
year, especially during the summer when more vehicles and
passengers are on the road, the ministry has launched a three-month
road safety campaign in the nine provinces, municipalities and
autonomous regions which have witnessed the most accidents. They
are Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Chongqing and Guangxi.
Roads with poor surfaces will be repaired and dangerous sections
will be equipped with safety barriers, the ministry said.
While the actual number of recorded road accidents in the first
six months of this year is 190,270, which is down 14.3 percent
year-on-year, Wang said a "very tough task" lay ahead during the
rest of the summer.
Fatigue and anxiety resulting from high temperatures and a
growing number of travelers are all contributing factors to road
accidents, he said.
Records covering the past five years show that July has an
average of 52,803 road accidents with a death toll of about 8,000.
On average 267 people die daily on the roads during this month.
To avoid accidents the ministry has offered some safety
tips:
Check a vehicle's circuit system, tyres and brakes regularly to
avoid mechanical failure in hot weather
Be familiar with the route and pay attention to weather
forecasts
Do not board unlicensed or overloaded vehicles
Report cases of drink driving or speeding to local police
Dial 122 and 120 for help in the event of a road accident
(China Daily July 12, 2006)