The National Police Agency will focus on cyclists and elderly people to achieve a national goal of reducing traffic deaths and injuries by 20 percent a year over the next five years, according to an action program unveiled Thursday.
According to the NPA, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 40 percent of all traffic-related deaths last year. Of the 2,104 pedestrians and 846 bicyclists killed, however, most were people age 65 or older, which is higher than in other countries, according to the program.
The NPA's plan also features special measures to curb deaths from accidents involving drivers age 70 or older.
If injuries are included, about 185,000 bicyclists were either injured or killed last year, up about 34 percent from 1995, the agency said. It also reported 2,576 accidents where bicyclists and pedestrians collided, up 358 percent from 10 years ago.
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