The scene of a road accident (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – As many as 20,080 trafficaccidents were reported in 2017, killing 8,279 people and injuring 17,040others, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety.
The committee revealed at a teleconference in Hanoi on January 3 that thenumbers represented respective decreases of 1,509, 406 and 2,240 in cases,fatalities and injuries as compared with the previous year.
Traffic jams developed complicatedly in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi MinhCity, it said, adding that 87 prolonged traffic jams were reported in the yeardue to accidents, vehicle fleet inflows and other mishaps.
Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is alsoChairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, asked competent forcesto pay attention to handling overloaded vehicles and determine responsibilityof heads of ministries, agencies and localities.
Talking about the Traffic Safety Year 2018’s theme of “Traffic safety forchildren,” the Deputy PM said deaths among children in 2017 were mainly causedby traffic accidents.
[Helmet law needs reinforcement]
It is the responsibility of all to protect and carefor children, and raise their awareness of traffic safety, he said, stressingthe UN General Assembly’s goal of reducing global road traffic deaths by halfby 2020.
Binh asked ministries, agencies and localities to take solutions to ensuretraffic safety in order to raise public awareness, especially among youngpeople, aiming to cutting traffic accidents by 5-10 percent, in terms of cases,fatalities and injuries.
The numbers of deaths and injuries among children in 2018 should drop by 10percent against the previous year, he said.
Besides, efforts should be doubled to ease traffic jams in big cities,particularly Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the official added.
Regarding build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects, Binh underlined the need toensure the transparent implementation of the projects and select capable andexperienced investors to ensure their quality and prevent public protest,causing traffic disorder.-VNA
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