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China traffic death toll 600 a day, says WHO
"The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 600 lives are lost and more than 45,000 people are injured on China's roads every day," the WHO said in a report.
"Without urgent intervention this could be 1,300 lives each day by 2020," the U.N. agency said.
"The huge road toll in China is just a part of a global epidemic of road traffic accidents that accounts for the deaths of some 1.2 million men, women, and children each year."
The WHO paints an even starker figure than Beijing's own statistics. In April, the official China Daily said about 300 people were killed each day in traffic accidents, the price of skyrocketing car demand, poor infrastructure and bad driving.
More than 100,000 people died on the roads in China in 2003, the highest national toll in the world, the daily said. China has a population of 1.3 billion.
The China Daily blamed shoddy and inadequate traffic infrastructure and booming car consumption.
"In China, injuries from road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people 15 to 45 years old," the WHO said.
"They have wide social and economic impact."
Last Updated: 10/8/2004
Copyright © 2005 Reuters News Agency.
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