Alcohol – major cause of traffic accidents
As many as 10,000 cases violating alcohol concentration regulations while driving were handled nationwide in August this year, mostly in Hanoi, Danang, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City, according to a senior police officer.
Tran Ky Hinh, head of the Vietnam Department of Register of Shipping, alcohol was the cause of 40% of traffic accidents, but in fact, the rate is higher as alcohol leads to many violations of traffic safety rules.
In the eight-month period, traffic accidents nationwide saw a year-on-year decline in the numbers of cases, deaths and injured, with 13,612 accidents, claiming 5,728 lives and wounding 11,781 others.
Last month, traffic police handled 137,100 violations, fining nearly VND76 billion, withdrawing over 8,000 driving licences and seizing nearly 700 automobiles and 15,000 motor bikes.
Addressing the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is head of the National Traffic Safety Committee, said that despite a year-on-year drop in the numbers of accidents, deaths and injured in the first eight months of this year, traffic safety situation remains complicated. Many overload vehicles have yet been detected, while corruption has still been seen in handling violations, he noted.
He asked ministries, sectors and localities to strengthen law enforcement, while strictly implementing Decree 46/ND-CP on administrative punishments for road and railway traffic violations.
He highlighted the need to develop aviation infrastructure and ensure flight safety amidst the increase of airplanes.
The Deputy PM directed the Ministry of Transport to continue speeding up the building of legal documents, closely managing the transportation business, and seeking ways to ease road overloads.
Traffic police in localities should increase breath-testing on drivers to detect violations, he added.
