Traffic accidents claim 785 lives

SEMARANG, Central Java: At least 785 died in 752 traffic accidents last year in the province, police said.

Provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Nugroho Djajusman, said yesterday that human error or negligence was the main reason for many of the accidents, which also seriously wounded 635 and slightly injured 925 people.

But the number of road accidents in 1997 dropped 9 percent to 752 from 823 cases in 1996, Nugroho said.

Altogether, police handled 289,410 traffic violations and collected almost Rp 4 billion in fines from undisciplined drivers. (har)