The National Committee for Traffic Safety reported at a national conference in HCM City on December 21 that more than 13,000 traffic accidents occurred in the past 11 months, killing about 11,500 people and injuring 10,200 others. The figures represented an increase of four percent in the number of traffic accidents and nine percent in the number of deaths compared to a year earlier.

The cases of driving over the speed limit made up 37.8 percent and the number of reckless drivers aged between 16 and 24 accounted for 34.4 percent.

In the face of increasing accidents, Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung said it is imperative to restore traffic safety by the end of the first quarter of 2007, inspect all means of transport by road or by river, and continue to raise awareness about traffic safety at schools to establish a traffic culture among young generations.

Lieutenant General Tran Dai Quang, deputy head of the committee, pointed out that transport infrastructure upgrade in 2006 failed to meet safety requirements. In the past 11 months, more than 2.3 million new motorcycles and 74,000 new cars hit the road, bringing the total number of motorcycles and cars on the road to 18.4 million and 965,000, respectively.

Mr Quang attributed the worsening situation to poor State management, road users’ poor awareness of traffic rules and limited numbers of traffic wardens.

The Government has set a target of reducing the death toll by 12 percent in 2007 and 10 percent in the following years.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung described the increasing number of traffic accidents in 2006 as “serious” as it is even higher than the national economic growth rate. On average, he said, more than 1,000 deaths were reported every month – a figure equivalent to the death toll caused by 10 storms.

He asked the Ministry of Transport and localities to restore the traffic safety corridor for means of transport by road, rail and river from now till the end of 2007, deal with “black” spots in the first half of 2007 and tighten the circulation of means of transport.

Hanoi police launched a campaign on December 21 to crack down on violations of traffic rules. Traffic wardens were positioned at intersections to levy fines on any traffic law breakers.

One day after the launch, traffic safety was restored and the number of violations dropped significantly. To maintain the results, local people said the city should take synchronous measures, with a particular focus on raising public awareness about traffic safety.

The Hanoi Traffic Police said it dealt with 1,632 violations and seized 445 means of transport, including 22 vehicles which drove over the speed limit on December 22.