Commemoration services for dead traffic victims

Commemoration ceremonies for people who have died in traffic accidents this year will be organized nationwide in November, said the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

Speaking at yesterday’s online conference on the traffic safety situation in the first six months of the year, deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, head of the Committee, said memorial services will be held in all provinces and cities as an effort to call on everybody to pay more attention to traffic safety.

In the first five months of this year, about 13,000 road traffic accidents have occurred nationwide, killing around 4,000 people and injuring more than 14,000 others, the committee reported.

The death toll and number of crashes have reduced by 17% and 21% respectively, compared to the same period last year, but there has been an increase in serious accidents.

The main reasons behind traffic accidents are mismanagement and inadequate public awareness.

Road accidents are common in Vietnam despite the fact that traffic rules have been tightened and road infrastructure has been improved, the committee said.

Awareness of people who operate vehicles is still low, and this is a big challenge to concerned agencies in improving traffic safety, Phuc said.