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Traffic fatalities in 2003 in Hokkaido numbered 391. This figure was a sharp drop of 102 from the previous year, and the lowest for any year since 1970, which set the record with 882 fatalities.
However, Hokkaido has had most traffic fatalities of any prefecture in Japan for the last 12 years. In Hokkaido, the ratio of fatal accidents to total accidents is high, and many of the fatal accidents are head-on collisions. This is because intercity distances in Hokkaido are twice as long as on Honshu, the main island of Japan, driving speeds are faster, and there are more undivided two-lane roads. |