Taiwan's road death rate ranked second among major Asian countries last year, according to the Cabinet's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (
Statistics made available by the agency yesterday show that while Taiwan had 19.2 road deaths for every 100,000 people last year, South Korea had 23.9, Japan 9.3 and Singapore 5.2. The US had 15.1 road deaths for every 100,000 people and the UK had 5.7.
Although the report indicates an increase in the number of traffic accidents that occurred from January to September this year, the number of road deaths decreased slightly.
According to the report, more than 86,000 traffic accidents occurred in the same period this year, 43.6 percent more than in the corresponding period last year.
The number of road deaths from January to September totaled 2,025, a 4.5 percent drop compared with last year. This figure includes more than 900 deaths caused by motorcycle accidents, which represents a drop of 22.2 percent compared with last year.
Despite the lower number of road deaths, 11,320 people were injured in traffic accidents from January to September, a 44.9 percent increase on last year.
The greatest number of fatal accidents -- 370 -- were attributed to drivers not paying attention. This represents an 11.3 percent decrease compared with the same period last year.
This is followed by accidents caused by drunken drivers, claiming the lives of 331 people, or 6.8 percent more than during the same period last year.
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