Development Trends and Characteristics of Devastating Accidents in China

Currently, the prevention of devastating accidents (at least 3 fatalities in one accident) is still the focus of accidents prevention in China due to the serious consequence and the huge impact. Meanwhile, the prevention of devastating accidents that include at least 10 fatalities in one accident has been one of the most important tasks of road traffic safety. The study on the devastating accidents in China is relatively missing. The total situation, recent trends of the devastating accidents and characteristics of the devastating accidents are analyzed. Although the total devastating accidents were declined, serious accidents occurred more frequently and the consequences were more serious. The reasons of serious accidents are investigated. The increase of the accident risk and severity are main impact factors. Accidents with at least 10 fatalities in one accident occur sporadically, and it is unrealistic to completely avoid this kind of accidents. The ideas should been changed. Curbing all devastating accidents including the accidents with at least 10 fatalities in one accident should been the most important goal of road traffic safety at present. The macroscopic analysis and the in-depth analysis of devastating accident cases should be strengthened to further curb the devastating accidents.