Hong Kong - Hong Kong has the safest roads in Asia with less than one fatality every two days last year, the head of a government committee said Wednesday.

The city recorded 160 road deaths last year, the lowest level in Asia and the seventh-lowest in the world, said Hong Kong Road Safety Campaign Committee chairman Lawrence Yu.

The figure was also the third-lowest death toll recorded in the former British colony in the past 49 years, even though roads in the city of 6.9 million are becoming busier.

Yu said the number of deaths and severe injuries in traffic accidents was falling due to road safety campaigns and other initiatives.

The low death toll is helped by Hong Kong's low level of vehicle ownership. Less than four in 10 adults in the high-rise city have cars of their own, relying instead on taxis and public transport. (dpa)