Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010
Kyodo News
The number of people who died in traffic accidents totaled 4,914 in 2009, down 4.7 percent from the previous year and less than 5,000 for the first time since 1952, the National Police Agency said in a preliminary report Saturday.
The number declined for the ninth straight year as more people use seat belts and the number of accidents caused by drunken driving and speeding continues to decrease.
The number of people who died in traffic accidents had stayed around 3,000 to 4,000 until 1952, when it started to surge in tandem with the country's rapid economic growth, which enabled more people to own cars.
The number of deaths rose above 10,000 in 1959 and peaked at 16,765 in 1970, before starting to decline.
Although the number began to rise again in the 1980s, statistics show that the number has generally been falling since around 1993.
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