Roads still a death zone

Too many lives are being lost on Vietnam’s roads each day

In the first six months of this year, 7,669 traffic accidents were reported along with 6,910 fatalities and an average of 38 deaths per day due to road smashes.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told a traffic safety conference in Hanoi last week the number of traffic accidents had increased in 2006 and the first six months of 2007, compared to previous years.
“This means that our efforts are not enough,” Dung said.
Dung asked local authorities and government agencies to make it a priority to educate people about traffic safety.
The number of accidents, said Dung, was a major challenge for the nation.
The National Traffic Safety Committee blamed the increasing rate of fatalities and accidents on a lack of centralised and focused regulations.
“The problem is that some local authorities do not pay enough attention to the issue and the people’s awareness of the importance of traffic rules is still quite low,” said Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung.
Moreover, he added, the fines levied for traffic violations are too little to be effective.
Dung said the entire political system and people, from the centre down to the grassroots level, must work together to reduce traffic accidents and traffic violators must face stricter fines.
The nation’s media was asked to cover more stories concerning traffic safety and organisations, businesses and schools were asked to ensure their staff and students obey traffic laws as a positive example for the rest of society.
Officials said this August the Ministry of Transport (MoT) will compile a list of accident “black spots” and will work with local authorities to improve safety conditions in these areas.
Local authorities have been asked to eliminate all “black spots” at city intersections by the end of this year.
The MoT also was also asked to review vehicle and driver qualifications and take any unsafe vehicle or driver off the road.
In addition, the Ministry of Public Security was asked to create a new strategy that would place patrols in all major transport routes.