Traffic accidents decline but remain complex

ABO/VNA – The number of traffic accident cases, deaths, and injuries declined in the first half of 2018, but the problem remains complex and the drops still fall short of expectations, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said on July 5.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh speaks at the conference reviewing the status of traffic accidents in the second quarter on July 5 (Photo: VNA)

According to the National Traffic Safety Committee, from December 16, 2017 to June 15, 2018, nearly 9,000 traffic accidents were recorded nationwide, killing 4,103 people and injuring 7,027 others, each figure down year-on-year. Of these, 8,889 accidents were on roads, 62 others on railways, and 40 on inland waterways.

At the national teleconference reviewing the status of traffic accidents in the second quarter, Deputy PM Binh commended 35 provinces and cities for their reductions in the number of traffic deaths.

However, the figure hiked in 26 localities, particularly in the provinces of Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Tay Ninh, and Ca Mau where the number of deaths doubled from the same period last year.

The national committee said 26 percent of the over 6,800 analysed road accidents were caused by citizens driving in the wrong lane. Most of the cases happened between noon and midnight on national highways and involving motorbikes.

Deputy PM Binh said some of the serious accidents over the past six months, especially consecutive railway incidents in late May, have caused substantial human losses and to property. Overloaded trucks remain a major cause for transport infrastructure degradation, he highlighted.

Meanwhile, traffic congestion in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and on the main roads connecting the two cities is still unorganised, particularly during holidays and bad weather, or when accidents have occurred.

He asked the Ministry of Public Security to better coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in ensuring traffic order and safety, especially in sharing information about traffic violations and drivers.

He underlined the need to set up a system for exchanging information about the traffic situation along points of the national highway 1A and expressways to help deal with any complicated traffic circumstances.

(Source: VNA)