China reported 566,000 traffic accidents in the first 10 months of this year, which claimed 85,666 lives, according to statistics from the traffic administration of the Ministry of Public Security.

An official said earlier in the week at a national meeting on the prevention of traffic accidents held in Chongqing, southwest China, that accident reports and the death toll dropped 12.8 percent and 5.1 percent respectively on the corresponding period last year.

A total of 38 accidents were determined by the administration as serious, with a death toll exceeding 10 each.

The period also saw 418,000 people injured in traffic accidents, the statistics showed.

Although the country saw a decrease of traffic accidents, the official said drivers and traffic security workers should not relax their vigilance.

(People's Daily   November 13, 2003)