Two traffic crashes that claimed a total of 48 lives on Sunday could have been avoided had traffic rules been strictly obeyed.

In one, a sleeper bus rammed into a tanker carrying methanol on a highway in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, causing the flammable liquid to ignite. Thirty-six of the 39 passengers aboard the bus, including the driver, were killed. In the other, 12 passengers died after a van they were riding in rear-ended a stationary truck in Sichuan province.

The first one took place at 2 am, when Ministry of Public Security rules do not allow passenger buses on roads. Such vehicles are required to stay off the road between 2 am and 5 am to prevent fatal accidents from occurring in the small hours of the night, when drivers are likely to be sleepy.