Traffic accidents on the Chinese roads in May killed 4,733 people, a decrease of 16.4 percent compared with the same month last year, the Ministry of Public Security said Thursday.

The death toll was also 349 people less than the number in April, according to the ministry's statistics.

A total of 17,532 road accidents in May also left 20,858 people injured, while causing direct economic losses worth 62 million yuan (9 million U.S. dollars), the ministry said.

These figures dropped 21.9 percent, 20.5 percent and 28.1 percent respectively from the same period last year.

The ministry said the improvement was due to increased efforts to address problems like speeding, drowsy driving, and drunk driving.

However, it warned that roads in cities became increasingly dangerous since fatality rate involved in accidents on those roads in May rose by 2.5 percentage points from the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2009)