Road accident death toll reaches 110 during New Year holiday

As many as 110 people were killed in 147 traffic accidents in the four-day New Year holiday in Vietnam, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.

As many as 110 people were killed in 147 traffic accidents in the four-day New Year holiday in Vietnam, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.

 

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There are two railway accidents with one killed and one injured. There were no accidents reported on inland waterways or at sea.

The National Traffic Committee said they had worked with the Ministry of Public Security and local police departments closely during the holiday to limit the congestion spots and traffic accidents.

The traffic police seized 2,814 vehicles and collected nearly VND15.2bn (USD655,000) in fines in 17,957 violations. About 1,000 drivers had their licenses withdrawn. The waterway traffic police also dealt with 1,308 violations and collected nearly VND1.3bn in fines.

Routes to city centres in Hanoi and HCM City experienced traffic jams, especially during the first day of the holiday. The committee has received 81 complaints from the locals about overloaded passengers buses and severe traffic jams.

According to the committee, the traffic order during the holiday was basically ensured with no major accidents. The average death toll slightly increased from 22.6 to 27.5 a day compared to the weekdays. They blamed the public's lack of awareness and regards to the traffic law as one of the causes of congestion as the cases of drunk driving and driving without helmets increased during the holiday.