Off the wire
• Study shows face recognition ability entails brain tissue growth  • Canadian market dips despite favorable job data  • Another UN peacekeeper killed by attackers in Central African Republic  • Bolivia sees inflation of 4 pct in 2016 below forecasts  • Malta disagrees with EU over 40-mln-euro presidency spending  • New UN chief orders high-level task force be formed to tackle sexual abuse  • U.S. intelligence releases report on alleged Russia's interference in presidential election  • U.S. Congress confirms Trump's presidency as Democrats challenge result  • London's famous red buses becoming greener  • Gold down on stronger U.S. dollar  
You are here: 　 Home

Traffic accidents claim 1,086 lives in Laos in 2016

Xinhua, January 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

As many as 1,086 people were killed in 5,616 road accidents across Laos in 2016, according to the Traffic Police Department under Lao Ministry of Public Security.

The fatalities by traffic accidents in 2016 represented a significant rise compared to 2015 when 995 people were killed in 5,571 road accidents. Police said the number of accidents was increasing as many motorists continued to violate the traffic rules.

In 2016, over 8,910 people were injured by traffic accidents while 10,305 vehicles were damaged, costing over 83 billion Lao kip (nearly 10.2 million U.S. dollars).

Capital Vientiane topped the list with 1,554 accidents and 261 fatalities. This represented an increase of 66 accidents and 24 fatalities compared to 2015, reported state-run Vientiane Times on Friday.

The main causes of road accidents in 2016 were listed as intoxication, reckless driving and general violation of the traffic rules.

Laos has a high rate of road accidents compared to other countries in the region with motorbikes involved in 95 percent of all vehicular accidents and males making up 90 percent of the fatalities.

Meanwhile, alcohol is recognized as a major cause of accidents and incidents of drunk driving are higher than ever, said the traffic police department.

About 90 percent of accidents involve drunk driving, overspeeding and other violations of the traffic rules. Many accidents occur on weekends and special occasions when people get together to drink alcohol. Endit