COMMUNITY REACH: The number of fatalities fell from a year earlier, but the percentage of young and elderly victims rose, prompting measures to raise awareness

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 31, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

An average of eight people died every day last year in traffic accidents, Ministry of Transportation and Communications statistics showed yesterday.

The ministry unveiled the figures at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, where ministry officials were scheduled to brief lawmakers about the nation’s progress in keeping its roads safe for all users.

Although the number of people killed in traffic accidents fell from 3,219 in 2012 to 2,865 last year, the figure still came to an average of eight fatalities per day, the ministry said.

The number of elderly and young people killed in traffic accidents has been increasing, it said.

Last year, 457,382 people were killed or injured in traffic accidents, which resulted in estimated social cost of more than NT$500 billion (US$16.5 billion), the ministry said.    [FULL  STORY]