Alcohol-related traffic accidents with casualties had dropped by more than 20,000 in the 10 years since China criminalised drunk driving in 2011, compared with the 2000 to 2010 period.
The decline is significant, given that the total number of motor vehicles across China rose by 181 million and that of drivers by 259 million over the past decade.
Liu Yupeng, deputy head of the traffic management bureau under the Ministry of Public Security, released the figures on Wednesday while elaborating on how criminalising drunk driving has led to lower incidence rates of such behavior.
Following the move, designated driver services have also flourished in China, with the number of orders for such services hitting an annual average of nearly 200 million, statistics showed. (Xinhua/NAN)
