"There were 14,700 accidents involving children. A total of 685 children died, and 16,300 were injured," Rashid Nurgaliyev said at a traffic safety conference.
The minister said that overall, 135,500 accidents happened in Russia in the first eight months of 2008, 8.4% fewer than in the same period last year. A total of 18,000 people died (11.4% fewer compared with last year) and 169,000 were injured (9.7% fewer).
He said 315,000 people had died on the country's roads in the last 10 years, with about 2 million receiving injuries.
Russian legislators have been trying to reduce road deaths with stricter traffic laws, but many think this has mostly resulted in increased corruption rather than a real drop in the casualty figures.
