TEHRAN -- Minister of Roads and Transport Ahmad Khorram said here Sunday that Iranian roads have over 500 accident- prone locations needing Rls.8,000 billion for their repair.

Speaking to the reporters, he added that over 17,108 people have been killed and 108,000 others injured in road accidents during the period 2000-2001 and that the total damages were estimated at Rls.5,000 billion.

He further said that new roads and highways have contributed to these accident-prone locations.

Crossing of the new roads with villages and small towns throughout the country has caused these dangerous points, Khorram said, adding that the addition of over 300,000 new vehicles to traffic has been another cause of rise in the number of accidents last year.

He cited 19,700 fatalities due to accidents in the period.

Khorram also said that with cooperation by Majlis and government a special bill is underway which aims to eliminate the short- comings on the roads.

On the average, some 15,000 people are killed and 87,000 injured in traffic-related accidents in the country annually. In statistical terms, on average one person is killed every 40 minutes and one injured every seven minutes.

Run-down vehicles, insufficient emergency road aids, lack of communication facilities to swiftly relay information on traffic-related accidents and inadequate emergency centers on roads are the main causes of the high death toll from road accidents in Iran, traffic experts say.