The National Traffic Safety Committee is reporting 164 road deaths in the five days from February 15 to February 19, 29 more to date than last year's Tet toll.
Many hospitals in HCM City gear up for rush of Tet traffic traumas
There were 19,275 traffic accidents, resulting in 164 deaths and 237 injuries.
The cumulative accident count was down 14 on last year, and 76 fewer people had been injured, but the number of deaths increased by 29 compared to the same time last year, the committee said.
An especially serious accident happened in Hung Yen Province on February 18, when a car and a motorbike, carrying three adults and two children, collided head-on. Four people on the motorbike were killed almost instantly, with one adult surving but in critical condition.
On the first day of the lunar new year, there were 50 road accidents, killing 19 people and injuring 53, despite heightened traffic police vigilance, with 4,400 violations recorded and fines totalling more than VND1.5bn (USD71,500) meted out. Police impounded 66 cars and 879 motorbikes, and revoked 136 driving licenses.
In expectation of increased road trauma over the Tet holiday period, due to excessive alcohol consumption and careless driving, hospitals have to increased their staff. Dr. Vo Tan Canh, chairman of the trade union at Trung Vuong Hospital in HCM City, said doctors had been told they could be pulled from other wards to help with emergency cases.
The death toll is expected to rise sharply on the second day of the Lunar New Year, when, historically, road accidents are highest when more people take to the streets and highways to visit family and friends.
