Traffic accidents, deaths, injuries fall in three months hinh anh 1Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
 
Hanoi (VNA) - The number of traffic accidents and traffic-related deaths and injuries dropped in the first quarter of 2020, reflecting the positive impacts of new stringent alcohol regulations.

The Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security announced on March 30 morning that from December 15, 2019 to March 14, 2020, a total of 3,467 traffic accidents occurred nationwide, killing 1,640 people and injuring 2,568 others.

The number of traffic accidents, death and injuries fell by 13.9 percent, 13.8 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively, compared with the same period last year.

The main reason for the significant reduction was attributable to the positive impacts of the Law on Alcohol Harm Prevention and Control that took effect on January 1, 2020 along with Government Decree 100 on increased fines for drink driving.

Additionally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, people have been discouraged from driving.

During the first quarter of this year, police cracked down on over 910,900 violations of road, rail and inland waterway safety, collecting fines of over 773 billion VND (32.4 million USD).

About 77,600 drivers had their licences revoked, and of them, 48,636 were found to have excess levels of blood alcohol content. A further 307 drivers tested positive for illegal narcotics.

Nearly 157,500 vehicles were seized due to violations.

From now until the end of this year, traffic police were asked to work together with other agencies to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, which had 194 infections as of March 30 morning. 25 out of 63 cities and provinces across Vietnam have reported COVID-19 cases./.
VNA