Fatal accidents involving trucks making right turns have long been a headache for the city, but the latest solution seems to be working well.

Police in the Pudong New Area said yesterday that the number of truck accidents involving casualties so far this year had dropped 57 percent from the same period last year, largely because of the installation of partition blocks at key intersections.

The cement blocks, weighing 400 to 1,000 kilograms, separate motor vehicles from non-motor vehicles and reduce the chances of a collision, police said. Normal traffic flow is not affected.

Blocks have been deployed at 95 intersections on 17 streets used by trucks, police said, and more will be installed in the future.

Police said most cases of trucks causing accidents when turning right are because drivers were going too fast and weren’t payingenough attention to other traffic.

The speed limit for large trucks turning right is set at 10 kilometers an hour but the rule is routinely flouted.