Taxis blamed for 14 deaths

Taxis caused 14 deaths in the first half of this year in 6,972 accidents, Shanghai traffic police said on Thursday.

The number of the deaths and accidents was down 36.4 percent and 19.4 percent from the same period last year.

Every 100 taxis caused 17 accidents during the period, four fewer than in the same period last year, but taxi companies remain the transport companies with the second highest number of accidents per 100 vehicles after construction waste companies.

Taxis were involved in 181,215 traffic offenses in the first six months this year, or 4.33 offenses per taxi. The number of offenses per vehicle is much higher than the transport business average of 1.84 offenses per vehicle.

Buses in the city caused 16 deaths in the first half of the year in 2,442 accidents, while long-distance buses caused five deaths in 802 accidents, according to the police.