One person was killed and several others were injured in multiple car crashes
on Taiwan's freeways and other major roadways today as the three-day New
Year's holiday weekend began.

Police say a car crash between a trailer and a truck occurred at around 1
a.m. on a southbound section of Freeway No. 1 near Chiayi County, leaving the
trailer's driver dead and two others slightly injured.

There were also multiple crashes in the morning on the same freeway near
Tainan and Kaohsiung, leaving two slightly injured.

On the coastal highway connecting Hualien and Taitung in eastern Taiwan, a
four-car pileup occurred in the morning, leaving two with minor injuries.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications says road accidents aside,
holiday traffic on the nation's freeways remained "normal", though several
freeway sections experienced heavy traffic jams in the morning.

The ministry says as of noon, freeway traffic flow was up by 5 percent from
the same period last year.

(NS)