HCM City Road and Railway Traffic Police Department proposed banning the sales of alcoholic drinks after 11pm in order to decrease accidents caused by drunk drivers.
HCM City still seesa sharp increase of traffic accidents in April
Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tranh Tra, head of the department, said that up to 70% of traffic accidents were caused by drunk drivers, but that bars and taverns continue to sell whenever they can.
According to statistics released by the municipal traffic safety board, the city saw an average of two traffic-related deaths each day in the first quarter of the year, with a surge just after Tet.
Despite several meetings to address the problem, the city still saw a sharp increase of accidents in April, which reached 373 and left 67 fatalities. Most of these have been attributed to drivers not obeying road safety laws, especially driving under the influence of alcohol.
During one of the meetings on traffic safety, held on May 7, the vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyen Huu Tin urged the local Traffic Safety Committee to take drastic measures to reduce the number traffic accidents, suggesting the installation of cameras and more patrol vehicles. He also urged localities to increase the punishments violation of traffic regulations, in particular for drunk drivers.
This, he said, would require more monitoring.
