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TUESDAY, JANUAR: 1, 1985
+ IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT ROAD USERS APPROACH ROAD JUNCTIONS WITH UTMOST CARE AND OBSERVE TRAFFIC SIGNALS. MOTORISTS MUST WATCH OUT FOR PEDESTRIANS AND OTHER VEHICLES WHILE PEDESTRIANS MUST WATCH OUT FOR TRAFFIC, MR CHAN SAID.
THE ROAD ACCIDENT STATISTICS REPORT SERVES AS A BASIS FOR ALL ASPECTS OF ROAD SAFETY POLICY INCLUDING PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS, EDUCATION AND ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION WORK.
THE REPORT ANALYSES THE OVERALL ACCIDENT TREND FROM 1976 1983, THE ACCIDENT ENVIRONMENT, THE AGE OF DRIVERS AND TYPES ICLES INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS AND DETAILS OF CASUALTIES.
REPORT IS COMPLEMENTARY TO THE POLICE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT TATISTICS RELEASED QUARTERLY.
THERE HAD BEEN A DOWNWARD TREND IN THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES SINCE EARLY 1982.
IN 1983 THE NUMBERS OF ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES DECLINED BY EIGHT PER CENT AND 9.2 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
ALTHOUGH THE SAME PERIOD SAW A REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF LICENSED MOTOR VEHICLES, ROAD USAGE, AS MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF KILOMETRES WHICH VEHICLES TRAVELLED ANNUALLY HAD ACTUALLY INCREASED.
THE NUMBER OF PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS IN 1983 DROPPED BY 9.2 PER CENT, FROM 8 281 TO 7 520.
IN 1982 THE PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT FIGURE ALSO SHOWS A DECREASE OF 5.1 PER CENT OVER 1981.
PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS HAVE SHOWN A MORE SIGNIFICANT DECREASE THAN ANY OTHER TYPES OF ACCIDENTS.
ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, THE MOST ACCIDENT-PRONE PEDESTRIANS WERE BETWEEN FIVE AND 14 YEARS OF AGE AND THOSE OVER 65. IN 1983, 1 943 CHILDREN IN THIS AGE GROUP AND 1 127 ELDERLY PEOPLE WERE INJURED OR KILLED IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.
DESPITE THE DECREASE, PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT FIGURES IN HONG KONG WERE STILL HIGH AND THE GOVERNMENT WOULD CONTINUE TO TARGET
ITS ROAD SAFETY PUBLICITY DRIVE AT PEDESTRIANS, MR CHAN SAID.
THE REPORT ALSO SHOWS THAT MOST ACCIDENTS IN 1983 OCCURRED
IN THE DAY TIME, BETWEEN 8 AM AND PM.
THERE HAD BEEN MORE ACCIDENTS IN THE HOTTER MONTHS OF 1983, BWEEN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER.
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