Drunk taxi drivers caused nearly 1,000 traffic accidents last year, a police report showed Friday, indicating a steady rise of such accidents in recent years.
A total of 988 car accidents were reported as having been caused by inebriated taxi drivers in 2010, the National Police Agency report showed, which was submitted to You Jung-hyun, a lawmaker from the ruling Grand National Party during a parliamentary audit.
The 2010 figure marks a 40-percent rise from 2006. The number reached only 704 in 2006 and rose to 781 the following year. It further grew to 831 in 2008 and 846 in 2009.
Accidents involving drunk taxi drivers resulted in 17 deaths and injuries to 1,868 others last year. The 2010 death toll was down from 25 in 2006, but the number of wounded was far more than the 1,291 for that year, according to the report. (Yonhap)