Traffic deaths fall sharply this year

Student volunteers promote the Government's new traffic safety Plan.—VNA/VNS Photo Quang Hai

HA NOI (VNS)— About 1,505 lives were saved on Viet Nam's roads in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period last year. And there were 10,634 less injuries.

This was revealed during an on-line national conference on traffic safety yesterday, four days before the end of September.

In the period, more than 23,600 traffic accidents were reported, killing a total of 6,908 people and injuring another 25,002.

Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the National Transport Safety Committee, praised "the great efforts" made by all government agencies and people in achieving the big reduction.

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang said notable progress had been recorded regarding accidents on highways.

Deputy PM Phuc asked everyone to continue their efforts to curb traffic accidents in the remaining three months of the year.

He asked them to strengthen communication activities to raise awareness among the community.

He particularly referred to the enforcement of the recently released Decree 34/ND-CP. This imposes high fines on traffic violators, particularly those caught speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.

In the nine-month period under review, traffic police nation-wide recorded nearly 5.2 million violations and temporarily seized more than 19,000 automobiles and nearly 468,000 motorbikes.

In the same period, 201,370 people were charged with driving unsafely.

In addition, the names of 102,226 traffic violators were reported back to authorities in their residential areas.­ — VNS