China saw 52,661 road accidents in the first quarter of this year, a drop of 16.4 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
A total of 15,464 people were killed and 63,101 others injured in the accidents, down 4.3 percent and 14.1 percent respectively year on year, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The ministry said the decrease was a result of the country's intensified efforts to curb traffic violations, including speeding, fatigue driving, driving after drinking alcohol and overloading.
During traffic peak seasons in China, many drivers and bus companies dared to violate regulations to overload the buses with passengers for the purpose of earning more money for each run. And passengers who were eager to get home were willing to squeeze themselves into the already full buses with no comfortable spaces even to stand.
The ministry said a nationwide campaign from Feb. 20 to March 31 targeting at serious traffic violations had significantly reduced road accidents and fatalities.
Despite such improvements, the ministry said the past quarter also saw an increase of serious accidents caused by passenger buses on highways, each of which killed more than 10 people.
A total of six such accidents happened over the past three months as a result of traffic violations by passenger buses, an increase of 20 percent, the ministry said.
"Four of the accidents happened on highways," the ministry said, adding that initial investigations showed that all the four accidents were caused by speeding.
On March 27, two road accidents killed 38 people and injured 18others in east China Fujian and Jiangxi provinces.
Eighteen people were confirmed dead and seven others were hospitalized after a bus heading for Quanzhou city in Fujian Province overturned on a freeway and fell into a ditch.
Twenty people died and 11 others were injured in Jiangxi Province when a speeding bus broke through the fence dividing an expressway and collided with two trucks in Fengcheng city.
In the wake of the accidents, the Ministry of Public Security ordered public security and traffic departments at all levels to tighten check of traffic violations, especially speeding of passenger buses.
It has also urged local bureaus nationwide to increase patrol on highways and overhaul road signals and traffic safety facilities to improve road conditions.
Efforts should also be made to improve passengers' awareness of using seat belt, the ministry said on its website.
Source:Xinhua
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