The number of violations of a new law aimed at curbing dangerous driving came to 322 last year, with drunken driving accounting for nearly half of the cases, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
The law, which went into force in December 2001, put stiffer penalties on drivers who cause injury or death through dangerous driving.
Of the 322 cases, 54 drivers faced criminal charges with imprisonment of more than one year, according to a report the NPA submitted to the National Public Safety Commission.
The report says drunken driving accounted for 159 of the dangerous driving cases, followed by 121 accidents caused by drivers who deliberately ran red lights. Next came 28 accidents caused by speeding.
Male drivers committed 94.7 percent of dangerous driving violations. By age, 114 drivers were in their 20s, the most heavily weighted age bracket among offenders.
The NPA said in a separate report to the commission that the number of "bosozoku," members of biker gangs, rounded up by police across the country last year declined by 8.4 percent from the previous year to 85,888.
Police arrested 8,025 gang members, a 4.5 percent decrease from the previous year, which recorded the biggest number of arrests. The number of those charged with criminal offenses also eased, down 7.5 percent from the previous year to 5,376.
The number of biker gang members charged with traffic law violations declined 7.5 percent from the previous year to 78,752.
The NPA said the number of bosozoku also shrank, down 6.4 percent from the previous year to an estimated 24,669.