China reported 159,000 road accidents in the first half of this year, with 37,000 fatalities and 189,000 injured and causing direct losses of 540 million yuan (US$71 million).

The figures were released by the traffic management department under the Ministry of Public Security on Sunday.

Compared with the same period last year, the number of road accidents was down 16.9 percent, deaths were down 12.2 percent, injuries dropped 15.2 percent and the amount of losses caused by road accidents was down 29.6 percent.

The ministry attributed the reduction of road accidents to improved road safety awareness and observance of the road rules among motorists, particularly when it came to overloading, speeding and fatigue driving, the three major causes of road accidents.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2007)