More drastic and synchronous measures are needed in 2013 to maintain the downward trend in traffic jams and accidents in 2012, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

In a year-end interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Phuc, who is also Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, highlighted the remarkable improvements in traffic order in the 2012 Year of Traffic Safety.

Thanks to efforts made by the whole political system and support of the people together with the resolute and synchronous implementation of measures, the numbers of traffic accidents, fatalities and injured decreased by 17 percent, 14 percent and 20 percent respectively. Traffic congestions in big cities such as Hanoi fell 46 percent.

“However, these are only initial results. To maintain the achieved results, particularly to further reduce accident fatalities, we should continue to implement synchronous and drastic measures over the long term,” Phuc said.

He elaborated that the main theme for traffic safety in 2013 is to raise the sense of responsibility of on-duty officers and awareness of road users.

The Deputy PM also pledged to improve the efficiency of State management in ensuring traffic order and safety, especially the management of drivers training and testing, vehicle registering and transport activities.

According to Phuc, successful solutions in reducing traffic congestions in big cities, especially Hanoi , will be applied on a larger scale while efforts will continue to seek new solutions./.VNA