Vietnam makes progress in curbing traffic accidents
Vietnam has recorded remarkable improvements of traffic safety and order thanks to the involvement of the whole political system and efforts of people, said Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho at a plenary session of the Traffic Safety Conference 2021 on December 3.
The event, held in both in-person and online forms by the National Traffic Safety Committee, brought together delegates from 63 provinces and cities nationwide, and traffic safety experts from different countries and international organisations.
According to Tho, in 2020, Vietnam saw a sharp fall in terms of the number of traffic accidents, and traffic accident-related deaths and injuries in the past decade, and for the first time, the number of traffic accident-related deaths fell below 7,000 people.
In the January – November period of this year, 10,137 traffic accidents occurred nationwide, killing 5,111 and injuring 7,059 others, down 24.72 percent, 17.76 percent and 29.47 percent year-on-year, respectively.
However, Tho noted that the number of traffic accidents still remains high, and traffic congestion continues to be a big issue for large cities.
This requires comprehensive solutions, from improving legal institution, developing traffic infrastructure, enhancing state management capacity, promoting traffic culture, thus curbing traffic accidents and congestion towards a safe and friendly traffic system, he said.
Participants heard five reports on the impact of road classification by functions, and a report on discussion results related to nine topics in the working session on December 2.
According to a report by the World Health Organisation, every year the lives of approximately 1.3 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic crash. Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury. Additionally, the global economy suffers a loss of about 2.5 percent of the total GDP, equivalent to about US$1,500 billion, due to traffic accidents.
