The scene of a traffic accident that killed two people in Quảng Ninh Province on February 13. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Traffic accidents killed 2,723 people nationwide in the first quarter of this year, a decline of 484 people or 15.1 per cent year on year, said the Traffic Police Department.

During the three-month period, 6,550 traffic accidents were reported across the country, injuring 5,246 people.

Most of the accidents occurred on roadways with 6,496 accidents, killing 2,686 people and injuring 5,239 others.

Railways recorded 40 accidents while waterways reported only 14.

In the first three months of this year, six accidents resulting in serious consequences were reported in Quảng Ninh, Thanh Hoá, Trà Vinh, Lào Cai, Thừa Thiên-Huế and Tuyên Quang provinces.

According to the department, the number of accidents resulting in serious consequences has decreased compared to the same period last year (declining by five accidents).

Meanwhile, the number of dead and injured victims also reported a downward trend.

Vehicles causing the most traffic accidents were motorbikes, accounting for 56.82 per cent of the total, followed by trucks and trailers with 19.4 per cent.

"The majority of traffic accidents resulted from drivers lacking attention, failure to take the right lane and violation of traffic regulations while changing direction, not maintaining following distance, or the use of alcohol,” the department said.

In the first quarter of this year, police cracked down on more than 1.03 million traffic violations, a 38 per cent increase from the previous year.

Among those, 275,130 drunk driving cases faced sanctions.

About 245,707 cases (accounting for 24 per cent of the total number of violations) violated speed regulations, while 1,587 drivers tested positive for drugs.

Traffic violations were recorded the most on roads with more than 1.02 million violations, followed by waterways with 10,479 cases.

This year, police will strengthen inspections and impose stricter penalties on driving violations under alcohol or drug influence, oversized and overloaded vehicles, vehicles with expired registrations, and drivers using fake travelling documents. — VNS