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BOILING POINT
What is your assessment of the traffic
situation in Vietnam?
The problem of traffic accidents
in Vietnam now is very similar to our
problem in Japan 30 or 40 years ago.
At that time, Japan paid special at-
tention to educating motorists about
the need to comply with traffic laws,
with a special focus on adolescents and
children because their attitudes could
most easily be influenced positively.
This is the quickest and most effective
solution. We also made efforts to build
a safe infrastructure system and elimi-
nate black spots.
What is the most important thing Viet-
nam can do to limit traffic accidents?
The key is education. That is why we
have included a large proportion of it in
our project. Education and training has
been delivered to a range of audiences,
including school children, policemen,
drivers and management personnel.
Furthermore, speeding and drunk
driving contribute significantly to road
deaths in Vietnam and while the gov-
ernment has issued strict regulations on
this, many drivers are still drinking. This
is strictly forbidden in my country. Driv-
ers not only have responsibility for their
own life, but for those of others too. Here
in Vietnam, enforcement of the laws re-
mains poor, hence the problem persists.
What are the project aims?
With $65 million in funding, the
project is being implemented in all 10
provinces of the Red River Delta. With
backing from the National Traffic Safety
Committee of the Ministry of Transport
as well as the sponsor, JICA, the project
aims to cut traffic accidents and reduce
damage caused by them on four main
routes - National Highways 3, 5, 10 and
18 - by 2014.
The project has four separate com-
ponents: work to upgrade infrastruc-
ture for traffic safety; improvement of
awareness of traffic safety; traffic safety
education at schools; and the improved
enforcement of laws.
In the 10 provinces and cities, traf-
fic accidents have been curbed already.
We have organised 18 training
courses on traffic safety for over 900
policemen and 30,204 people in many
surrounding provinces and cities.
After four years of project work, are
you satisfied with the results so far?
What makes me most satisfied is
the public awareness of traffic rules and
the need to comply which have both
gradually been improved. The majority
of people in project areas have grasped
the legal regulations and basic road
traffic rules.
What improvements do you expect
to see over the coming months and
years?
It takes a long time to reduce traf-
fic accidents. Many things have to be
done. I really think there needs to be
a focus on long distance drivers; spe-
cifically, the transport company owners
need to be addressed.
The long road to saftey
The Japan International Cooperation Agency has
greatly assisted Vietnam’s traffic system improve-
ment efforts.
Bich Ngoc
talks with
Takao Inami
,
project manager of the Northern Vietnam National
Roads Traffic Safety Improvement Project, about the
country’s traffic challenges.