Traffic police in southern Dong Nai province have spent 92 billion VND (4.3 million USD) on installing traffic cameras in Bien Hoa city to help curb traffic violations and road accidents.

As many as 58 cameras have been installed at 25 points along crowded road junctions in the city. Police officials have also said the cameras will help police maintain better control over traffic flows and impose fines for violations.

The camera system has been connected with the city's traffic management centre, which uses automatic software to trace traffic violations such as speeding, ignoring red lights and reckless driving, and identify sources of traffic accidents.

The system also boasts the ability to identify the number plates of vehicles involved in accidents while accurately identifying the exact causes of accidents.

All information will then be sent to police to impose penalties on the spot or send fines to the work or residential addresses of traffic offenders.

The province also plans to continue investing in more cameras on various key routes throughout the province.

Figures from the provincial Traffic Safety Committee showed that 635 accidents took place last year, killing 425 people and leaving 512 injured.

Although the number of accidents reduced compared to the previous year, the committee said the quality of roads had declined and that vehicles continued to drive in opposite lanes, increasing the risk of accidents.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Tran Van Vinh has required transport authorities to improve the quality of roads and strengthen penalties for offenders. The province will also aim to reduce the number of traffic accidents by 5 percent from the previous year.

The investment adds to traffic cameras already installed on key routes on National highway No1 to help trim the number of accidents occuring on the route.-VNA