KUNMING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- China had more than 19,000 driving schools by the end of 2018, with more than 27 million learner drivers trained annually, according to a forum held in Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province Tuesday.

China now has nearly 1 million driving instructors and more than 780,000 driver-training cars, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The forum focused on improving the comprehensive quality of driving instructors and road traffic safety, which are key to training qualified drivers.

"The causes of road traffic accidents are complicated, among which human factors make up a large proportion," said Yan Wenhui, general manager of Beijing Eastern Pioneer Driving School Co., Ltd. "It is mainly because of the lack of awareness of traffic safety."

Data showed that by the end of 2018, the number of motor vehicles in China had reached 327 million, with that of small passenger vehicles exceeding 200 million for the first time. The number of motor vehicle drivers was 409 million, with an annual increase of more than 30 million in the past five years.