Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety Truong Hoa Binh addresses the conference. (Photo: VNA)DeputyPrime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is Chairman of the National Committee forTraffic Safety, revealed the information at an online conference on April 9.
Binhsaid traffic statistics from the first three months of the year did show a reductionin accidents, but this was mainly due to less vehicles on the road because ofthe Tet holiday and socialdistancing measures in a number of localities.
Buthe warned that despite the drop in accidents in general, many lives were stilllost on the roads and overloading, plus traffic congestion, remained a concern.
Ministerof Transport Nguyen Van The said one of the reasons roads were getting busierwas because of the large amount of new vehicles being registered, which heestimated at around 500,000 each year.
Withsuch an increase in cars, over the next five to seven years, the level ofcongestion will be very large if we do not have radical solutions right now, hesaid.
Vietnamrecorded 3,206 traffic accidents in the first three months this year, killing1,672 people and injuring 2,386 others. The number of accidents and injuredpeople decreased by 263 and 183 respectively compared with the same period lastyear but the number of fatalities increased by 33, according to the NationalCommittee for Traffic Safety.
Speakingat the conference, Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Duy Ngoc proposedseveral measures to improve traffic safety and order.
Ngocsaid that as Vietnam was on economic development mission, transportinfrastructure improvements were crucial.
Hesuggested that provincial and municipal traffic safety committees must learnfrom experience what has been done well and what improvements were needed.
Headded that although the country still has many accident black spots,improvements had been made to about 20 percent of them.
TheMinistry of Public Security will direct traffic safety campaigns to educatemotorists.
Itwill also strengthen coordination between police, prosecutors and the courts toensure strict punishments for those who violate traffic laws.
“Forillegal racing, we will assign provincial and municipal police and the court toopen trials in public to create a strong deterrence,” said Ngoc.
Finally,the Ministry of Transport and traffic safety committees will be asked to reviewall recommendations and prioritise those that need to be done first./.
VNA
