Suspension bridges need checking: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested localities to check the quality of all suspension bridges, especially in mountainous areas, at a teleconference on February 25.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested localities to checkthe quality of all suspension bridges, especially in mountainous areas,at a teleconference on February 25.

Deputy PM Phuc, who isalso Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, made theinstructions after a suspension bridge collapsed in the northeasternmountainous province of Lai Chau on February 24 leaving eight deadand at least 40 others injured.

The accident is alesson for the transport sector as well as localities, he said, addingthat suspension bridges pose potential risks and the transport sectortakes responsibility for this.

According to the official,the Government has dispatched two helicopters carrying surgeons fromthe Hanoi-based Viet Duc and Bach Mai hospitals to Lai Chau to assistwith the treatment of victims of the accident.

Regardingtraffic safety, Deputy PM Phuc said the numbers of accidents, deaths andinjured continued to drop in the first two months of this year,especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

He used the occasion to praise 17 localities where the number oftraffic deaths was cut by more than half in the country’s longestholiday, especially the northern provinces of Tuyen Quang, Vinh Phuc,Bac Kan and Lai Chau which saw no traffic deaths.

However, many serious traffic accidents involving coaches, trucks andlorries took place after the festive time, he said, citing eight casesthat killed 12 people and injured 43 others from February 7-12.

The incidents show that sustainable traffic management remains a hugechallenge, requiring the great efforts of branches, localities andorganisations, the Deputy PM said.

To reduce the number ofroad accidents in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City , he asked ministries,branches and authorities to tighten the management of transportationservices and vehicles’ capacity as required in the 2014 National TrafficSafety Year.

He cited the northern port city of Hai Phong, which bans all drivers that test positive for drugs or have hearingand visual impairments, as an example to follow.

Ministries,branches and localities were also asked to devise plans to curb trafficaccidents in rural areas while publicising the list of trafficviolators via the media.

It is a must for the Ministry ofPublic Security to renovate its patrol methods, he said, urging theministry, together with the Ministries of Transport, and Education andTraining, to partner with municipal and provincial People’s Committeesto roll out drastic measures in order to ensure traffic safety duringschool examinations and educate students about traffic safety.

The National Committee for Traffic Safety was also asked to coordinatewith Vietnam Television, the Vietnam New Agency and other pressagencies to raise the efficiency of the work.

So far this year there have been 4,834 traffic accidents reported in Vietnam, leaving 1,818 dead and 4,741 injured.-VNA

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