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Illustrations © Courtesy of Road Safety Research Center, Research Institute of Highway, M.O.T, China

At the turn of the new century, the road traffic status in China became severe. From 2001 to 2004, annual road accident fatalities exceeded 100,000 for four consecutive years. The number of road fatalities peaked in 2002 when on average 300 people were killed on China's roadways each day. Table 1 provides a breakdown of deaths and injuries by road users in 2002. China was facing unprecedented road safety problems.