Report: China’s roads still world's deadliest

updated 11:20 a.m. ET March 21, 2008

BEIJING - Once again, China's roads are the deadliest in the world, a government news agency said Friday.

For the 11th consecutive year, China has topped the list in number of traffic deaths — 5.1 for every 10,000 motor vehicles. The Xinhua News Agency report says government statistics show nearly 82,000 road deaths in China last year.

Xinhua said the world average was two deaths per 10,000 vehicles. The most current U.S. government statistics online reported about 1.7 fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles in 2006.

Private car ownership in China has soared along with the country's economic boom. But overloaded vehicles, reckless driving and poor road conditions are still common and frequently lead to fatal crashes.

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