Traffic accidents kill more than 100,000 people and injure 500,000 others every year in China, said Feng Zhenglin, vice minister of communications on Tuesday.

Addressing at a symposium on the national road safety project, Feng said the growing number of traffic accidents have become a major hazard for the people's lives and also merit more attention from governments at all levels on the construction of road safety projects.

The national traffic safety conditions remains serious as the total number of the killed from traffic accidents has exceeded 100,000 annually for the three consecutive years since 2001, with an average daily report of some 300 deaths, said Zhang Jianfei, director of the Highway Department of the ministry.

In order to curb the situation, starting from this year, the ministry planned to renovate and upgrade the protective facilities along the main routes across the municipalities, provinces and regions in three years and to improve road conditions in some sections of highway with swift turns and steep slopes on the main lines.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2004)