Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested traffic policemen intensify their checks of traffic safety during this weekend as the five-day long holidays celebrating National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) come to an end.

The request came as incidents of speeding, passenger overloads and a lack of helmets triggered 66 accidents nationwide on May 2 alone, taking 37 lives and injuring 51 others.

Phuc, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, ordered closer coordination between traffic policemen, public security forces and local authorities to launch inspections on national highways and local roads, particularly tourism sites in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

He asked for law breakers to be dealt with severely.-VNA