The Ukrainian government is drawing up a program on the improvement of traffic safety on motor roads and reduction of the number of accidents, Ukrainian Premier Mykola Azarov said at a meeting with Prince Michael of Kent on Thursday.

"We're drawing up a serious program called to ensure road safety and we will be grateful to you for providing information in this issue," the press service of the government reported, citing the premier.

Prince Michael of Kent said that according to the data of a UN Commission for Global Road Safety, a member of which he is, the largest number of people in the world die from AIDS, typhoid and in the result of road accidents.

"And in the framework of this commission we have put an extremely ambitious task – from 2010 till 2020 to shorten twofold the number of road accidents, which lead to death or severe injuries for the victims," he said.

"Certainly, deaths or severe injuries as a result of road accidents appear extraordinary huge grief for the families and friends, but from the economic point of view it is also an exceedingly serious problem. We have calculated in Great Britain that each road accident is worth to the budget of one million dollars, as it demands payments for services of hospitals, insurance policies, services of lawyers, police etc." Prince Michael of Kent noted.

He promised all the materials which were in possession of the special commission would be sent to the Ukrainian government.