A police officer in the northeastern province of Quảng Ninh checks a driver's documents. The province - a tourism hub in Việt Nam has seen increasingly busy traffic during the National Day holiday. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vân

HÀ NỘI — Forty-eight people died and 51 others were injured in a total of 78 traffic accidents that were reported during the four-day holiday weekend between September 1 and September 4 in Việt Nam.

According to the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security, all the accidents happened on roads. No accidents were reported on railways or waterways.

During the holiday, traffic police across the country tightened inspections, detecting and handling 41,217 traffic violations and collecting fines of more than VNĐ60 billion (US$2.55 million). A total of 941 cars, 12,700 motorbikes and 106 other vehicles relating to the violations were temporarily seized while police revoked 6,298 driving licenses of violators.

Police also handled 510 waterway traffic violations, collecting fines of more than VNĐ600 million, withdrawing licences of eight violators and seizing two waterway vessels.

Nearly 8,900 violations were found to relate to drink-driving and nearly 8,000 related to speeding.

Police also found 2,043 vehicles that were oversized or overloaded, issuing fines worth more than VNĐ100 billion.

In the first eight months of this year, more than 4,270 people died and nearly 5,000 people injured in about 7,500 traffic accidents in Việt Nam, a rise of 8.67 per cent over the same period last year, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

Meanwhile, last year, as many as 11,495 traffic accidents were reported nationwide, killing 5,799 people and injuring 8,018 others. — VNS