VIENTIANE, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Lao National Secretariat Committee on Road Safety and associated groups met in Lao capital Vientiane on Thursday to review their work on improving road safety over the past five years.

Participants also discussed possible future joint activities with the aim of joining forces to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Friday.

The meeting, led by Lao Minister of Public Works and Transport Bounchanh Sinthavong, took place at the National Convention Centre and was attended by representatives of international organizations, traffic police, transport officials and emergency rescue teams.

Speaking at the meeting, Bounta Onnavong, director general of the Department of Transport under Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said a road safety project took place from 2014 to 2018 with a focus on road safety management, infrastructure, safe vehicles, road user behavior, and post-crash response.

The number of vehicles is continuing to increase, which is leading to more accidents and traffic congestion. At the start of the project in 2014, 1,054 people died of 5,072 road accidents throughout the year, according to statistics from Lao National Secretariat Committee on Road Safety.

In 2018, the number of accidents rose to 5,984, injuring 9,372 people and killing 995, according to the report.

These statistics indicate that from 2014 to 2018, there were 15 deaths for every 100,000 people on average in the country each year.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Health, international organizations and other groups are continuing to seek ways to prevent road accidents as well as help accident victims.