Slight decrease in traffic accidents, deaths; but drink driving, motorcycle fatalities up in 2021

Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications today announced traffic accident statistics for 2021, showing that the overall number of traffic accidents, injuries, and deaths slightly decreased year-on-year, but fatalities from motorcycle accidents, and those involving drunk driving actually increased.

According to the MOTC statistics, there were a total of 356,779 traffic accidents in Taiwan in 2021, resulting in 2,990 deaths and 474,376 injuries. Compared to 2020, there were 5,480 fewer accidents (-1.5%), 10 fewer deaths (-0.3%), and 7,777 fewer injuries (-1.6%).

However, fatalities from motorcycle accidents totaled 1,828 – up 10 from the previous year. The death toll from accidents involving drunk drivers totaled 318 – an increase of 29 compared to the previous year.

With Taiwan’s rapidly aging population it was no surprise to see an increase in traffic accidents involving the elderly, with a total of 77,945 recorded, up 1,363 from the previous year.

The highest number of fatalities involving drunk driving occurred in Pingtung, Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, Tainan, and Taichung in that order.

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