As many as 14,346 traffic accidents occurred nationwide over the past nine months, leaving 6,113 dead and 11,785 injured.  — Photo zing.vn

HÀ NỘI — As many as 14,346 traffic accidents occurred nationwide over the past nine months, leaving 6,113 dead and 11,785 injured. 

The figures, covering the period from December 16, 2016 to September 15 this year, represent a drop of 6.24 per cent, 5.11 per cent and 13.35 per cent, respectively, compared with the same period last year, according to data released by the National Committee for Traffic Safety (NCTS) at a teleconference on Friday. 

However, in 15 of the country’s 63 provinces and cities the number of traffic fatalities grew 10 per cent. 

Children accounted for 6.87 per cent of the traffic accident victims.

A recent joint research by the HCM City University of Technology and the Vietnamese-German University shows that the number of traffic accidents caused by children or in which children were victims in the two biggest cities of Hà Nội and HCM rose in the 2011-2016 period.

High-schoolers, particularly, were involved in more than 90 per cent of children-related traffic accidents, according to the research.

Worsened traffic jams

Traffic police reported that there had been 54 massive traffic jams in Hà Nội and HCM City over the past nine months, an increase of 116 per cent from 25 in the same period last year.

Hà Nội People’s Committee Deputy Chairman Nguyễn Văn Sửu blamed the high population density for the exacerbated traffic. 

“Hà Nội now has more than 10 million residents including expats. The rocketing population rise – by some 20,000 people a year – is a huge burden on the traffic infrastructure which is yet to catch up,” Sửu said.

Officials’ responsibilities

Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình asked authorities to take more drastic measures to ensure local traffic safety and order. 

“(We) must strictly avoid proposing vague solutions but practical ones instead to reduce and prevent traffic accidents,” Bình said.

He also accused some local officials of being “neglectful”, “loosening management responsibilities”, and even “covering up violations”.

“To tackle this, (we) will look into the responsibility of the local heads. Wherever there is a high rate of accidents, the provincial leader will be held responsible,” Bình added. — VNS