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Beijing addresses road safety problems ahead of Olympics

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-09 09:35

An express train is on a trial along the Beijing Airport line in Beijing, July 8, 2008. The police are doing their utmost to prevent major road accidents and keep the roads running safely and smoothly for the Games. [Agencies]

With 31 days until the Olympics, the city's police have completed handling of all 193 potential road safety threats in the capital.

The police were doing their utmost to prevent major road accidents and keep the roads running safely and smoothly for the Games, Wang Jinbiao, a senior official with the Ministry of Public Security, told reporters on Tuesday.

Wang said police throughout China found 15,598 potential road safety problems in the first half of the year and 3,871 had been repaired.

The ministry urged local police to be alert to the roads in their jurisdictions to provide a safe environment during the August 8-24 Games.

In the second half of the year, police will crack down on overloading, speeding and fatigued drivers. Vehicles carrying hazardous substances and school buses would get extra attention, Wang said.

According to the ministry, there were 131,000 road accidents in the first half of 2008, killing 33,000 people, injuring 152,000 and causing 501 million yuan ($72.6 million) in direct economic losses.

Speeding, failing to yielding to traffic and unlicensed driving were the major factors behind accidents, with speeding accounting for 14.6 percent of the deaths.

Deaths, injuries and losses fell 12.3, 20.4 and 14.4 percent, respectively, year-on-year.

However, deaths in accidents involving battery-powered bicycles, buses, hazardous vehicles and school buses increased 15.1, 11.6, 18.8 and 12.3 percent, respectively.

Police nationwide had also seized 3,906 smuggled or stolen vehicles in a special campaign launched in May, according to the ministry.