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The number of traffic accidents, which reached a historical maximum in 1998 (210,138), increased again in the year monitored and reached 225,690 (+15,552, +7.4 %) traffic accidents, in which 1,322 (+9.8 %, +118) persons were killed, 6,093 (-1 %, -59) received serious injuries and 28,747 (-1.6 %, -478) received light injuries. Material damage was estimated at CZK 71.50 bil. (+4.6 %).
Almost 93 % of traffic accidents were caused by motor vehicle drivers. 86 % of all persons killed in traffic accidents were killed in accidents casued by car drivers. In accidents cased by pedestrians (2,804 - of which 40.4 % of accidents were caused by children) 85 persons were killed. The drivers of the motor vehicles registered outside the Czech Republic caused 6,217 accidents in which 72 persons were killed.
Bad driving remains the main cause of accidents (64 %, 405 killed people), followed by excessive speed (16.5 %, 513 killed people) and not giving priority (16.9 %, 152 killed people). There were 9,120 accidents under the influence of alcohol, which account for 4.2 % of the total number of car accidents in which 138 persons were killed.
The highest number of traffic accidents happened in municipalities (towns and villages) (170, 234, 507 persons were killed - the second lowest number within the last 10 years). The highest number of fatalities was in accidents on class I. roads (515, +48 persons).
In terms of regions the highest number of accidents happened in Prague (44,192), where there was on the other hand the lowest number of fatalities (74 killed persons), followed by South Moravia (35,683), where on the contrary there was the highest number of people killed (233).
The Czech Government Council for the Road Safety approved the nation-wide educational programmes focused on traffic education of children. The activities of BESIP (abbreviation for road safety) were co-ordinated. 750 thousand children were trained in the various forms of traffic education. Almost 27 thousand adults participated in a number of preventative programmes focused on road safety. Information service of BESIP and a number of TV programmes deal with prevention of car accidents.
6,080 (+267) persons were lawfully sentenced for traffic crimes (Sec. 201, 201(a), 223, 224, 180, and 208 of the Criminal Code), with the most frequent crimes of actual bodily harm through negligence (1,773) (severe injury according to Sec. 224 of the Criminal Code) and 976 persons were sentenced for a crime of endangering others under the influence of an addictive substance (Sec. 201 of the Criminal Code).
2. Crime, Development in Individual Kinds of Crime and Security Risks