A total of 98,738 people were killed in road accidents in China in 2005, down 7.8 percent from the previous year, China's Ministry of Public Security said Thursday.

"This is the first time since 2001 that the annual death toll from road accidents has dropped below 100,000," said Yang Jun, director of Administration of Communications under the ministry, at a press conference.

He attributed the drop, realized against a 20.9 percent growth in the number of motor vehicles in use, to a series of measures the administration has taken, including heavy crackdown on speeding and overloading.

Yang said there were 450,254 road accidents in China in 2005, down 13.1 percent from the previous year. These accidents injured 469,911 people, down 2.3 percent year-on-year; Direct property losses was 1.88 billion yuan (about US$232 million), down 21.2 percent.

According to the administration, more than 92.7 percent of the road accidents were caused by misdeeds of motor vehicle drivers.

Yang said 47 major road accidents, referring to road accidents that each claim more than 10 lives, occurred in 2005, down 14.5 percent from the previous year. These major accidents killed 807 and injured 705 people, down 5.3 percent and 19.6 percent respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2006)