A traffic policer checks the blood alcohol level of a driver on Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Street in Hà Nội on Friday.— VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Seventy-one road traffic accidents were recorded nationwide on Friday, the second public holiday of the 2026 New Year break, leaving 41 people dead and 56 others injured in the country.

The Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security said that compared with the same day in 2025, the number of accidents rose by one case, or 1.43 per cent, while fatalities fell by three people, down 6.82 per cent.

The number of injured increased by eight, equivalent to 16.67 per cent. No traffic accidents were reported on railways or inland waterways.

During Friday, police nationwide inspected, detected and dealt with 11,285 violations of traffic order and safety.

Authorities temporarily impounded 82 cars, 3,633 motorcycles and 102 other vehicles.

A total of 423 driving licences were revoked, while penalty points were deducted from 2,114 licences.

Alcohol-related offences accounted for 3,373 cases, while 1,670 drivers were fined for speeding violations.

Other violations included 71 cases of overloaded vehicles, 15 cases of vehicles carrying cargo in excess of permitted size limits, 53 cases of carrying more passengers than allowed, and two cases of picking up or dropping off passengers at unauthorised locations.

Police also recorded 58 cases of drivers using mobile phones or other electronic devices while driving, two cases involving the absence or malfunction of driver image recorders, and seven cases related to drug use.

Regarding driving licence services, the department said it received 866 applications for licence renewal or replacement on Friday.

Of these, 414 applications were submitted via the online public service portal, while 452 were filed in person.

To date, more than 3.74 million accounts have been registered on the VNeTraffic application, including approximately 877,000 level-1 accounts and 2.87 million level-2 accounts. — VNS