Record 555 people killed on Peru highways to June

LIMA, Peru, July 11 (Reuters) A record 555 people died in bus and car accidents on Peru's highways during the first six months of the year, a third more than in the same period in 2005, police today said.

With 35 bus crashes in June alone, road accidents are one of the biggest threats to public safety in Peru, as an illegal bus industry has mushroomed and chauffeurs drive dangerously along rutted roads, fall asleep at the wheel and drive drunk.

''The accidents are mainly a consequence of driver negligence and show that the law is completely disrespected,'' Dulio Demantini, Peru's highways police chief, told Reuters.

The death toll this year is the highest since 2001, when police began collecting statistics on road accidents.

The main victims are poor Peruvians, but travelers from Europe and the United States have also been killed in crashes this year, hurting Peru's tourist industry, a key foreign exchange earner for the economy.

''This is a dramatic reality that is getting worse every year,'' Demantini said.

REUTERS SY BST2127