The number of people who died in traffic accidents during 2009 rose compared to the previous year, police announced on Monday. Him Yan, director of the Public Order Department, said the toll jumped from 1,572 fatalities in 2008 to 1,654 in 2009 - an increase of 5 percent. “Speeding and drink-driving are still the [main] cause of traffic accidents,” he said, pledging to enforce the traffic law “more seriously in a bid to reduce the mortality rate”. The rise in fatalities comes despite a drop in the total number of accidents, which fell from 6,214 in 2008 to 6,021 last year.