China has set Dec 2 as the annual National Traffic Safety Day to raise public awareness about road safety, according to a statement released by the State Council on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Public Security will arrange activities for the date this year.

The safety of passenger buses and school buses will be in focus this year, under the theme "Civilized traffic, say goodbye to bad habits".

In 2011, China had about 211,000 road accidents that killed 62,000 people.