Grand requiem held for traffic victims

Hanoi (VNA) – The National Committee for Traffic Safety in collaboration with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) held a grand requiem for traffic accident victims in 2018 on August 23.

The ceremony, the seventh of its kind, aimed to ease the pain of losing relatives of the bereaved families and to raise awareness of traffic safety.

This year, in addition to the grand requiem, all pagodas under the VBS across the nation held similar requiems as part of their celebration of the Buddhist Vu Lan festival. The festival falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar and is also an occasion for children to express their gratitude towards their parents (especially mothers) and help ancestors’ souls find their way back to earth.


Speaking at the event, Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Vice President and General Secretary of the VBS, said traffic accidents cause pain and losses for both families and society.

Traffic accidents are not karma but the result of divers’ awareness of traffic regulations, he said, adding that a Buddhist follower should abide by the law to ensure safety for himself or herself and others.  

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The, Head of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, said the Party and State always pay heed to ensuring traffic safety.


The traffic death toll fell from 13,500 in 2010 to 9,000 in 2017. In the first six month of this year, the figure was 4,700.-VNA