Holiday road toll: 63 dead, 56 injured
A total of 83 traffic accidents have been reported nation-wide during the three-day holiday in commemoration of the Hung Kings, killing 63 people and injuring another 56, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.
 |
Traffic accidents between April 16-18 involving roadways accounted for 81 accidents, causing 62 deaths and 55 injuries. Another two accidents causing one death and one injury occurred on rail and other traffic routes.
Of note, yesterday alone witnessed 33 traffic accidents, claiming the life of 23 people and injuring 24.
Early yesterday, a five-seat taxi of the Tam Gia firm registered under the plate number 12A-034.93 was found lying upside down in a pond on Dinh Le Street, Lang Son City in the northern province of Lang Son.
All four people in the car were found dead. Initial investigations indicate that the car was driving on a curved section of Dinh Le Street on April 17 night when the driver lost control due to speeding.
Another accident yesterday morning on National Highway 1A running through Ninh Thuan Province’s Thuan Nam District killed a motorist when he carelessly crossed the road and was run over by a truck.
The motorbike rider Nguyen Duc Hoa, a resident of Thuan Nam District, was killed instantly, but luckily his companion Nguyen Thai Nguyen, also living in the district, survived with only light injuries.
On April 18 afternoon, a taxi carrying three passengers crashed into a bridge edge on Ho Thi Huong Road, in the southern Dong Nai Province’s Long Khanh Township. The incident killed one passenger and seriously injured another two and the driver.
In regard to handling traffic safety violations during the holiday, statistics from the committee show that traffic police dealt with nearly 3,000 violations, handing out total fines of up to VND582.8 million (US$38,000) and temporarily holding 23 automobiles and 324 motorbikes.
On expressways, traffic police dealt with 146 violations, revoking 16 driving licences and temporarily holding 14 vehicles, gathering fines worth VND118 million (US$5,300) for the State treasury. Violations involving waterway traffic amounted to 463 cases with total fines worth VND146.8 million (US$6,500).
A quick report by the Hanoi Police’s traffic police force (PC67) indicated that in Hanoi alone there were three accidents, killing three people during the holiday.
Analyses of traffic violations show that vehicles parking and stopping illegally made up most of the cases, followed by vehicles driving in banned areas, going the wrong way, traveling in the wrong lanes and speeding through traffic lights.
