The number of traffic accident deaths this year is expected to be about 7,000, marking the second straight year for this figure to come in below 8,000, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
The number of traffic deaths from January to the end of November stood at 6,594, down 4.5 percent from the same period last year, the agency said.
The NPA reported fewer than 8,000 deaths last year for the first time since it began compiling data in 1957.
The number of actual traffic accidents, however, came to 860,361 in the first 11 months of this year, up 0.6 percent from the corresponding period of last year.
Police took action over 20,822 possible violations of a ban on cell phone use while driving during November, with the revised Road Traffic Law having taken effect Nov. 1.
The number of traffic deaths kept climbing after World War II, peaking at 16,765 in 1970. This figure was nearly halved in 2002, and the number of deaths fell to the 7,000 level last year.