Traffic accidents kill 6,012 people in nine months

Hanoi (VNA) – A total of 13,242 traffic accidents occurred in the past nine months, killing 6,012 people and injuring 10,319 others, reported the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

The figures represented year-on-year decreases of 7.8, 1.84, and 12.45 percent, respectively.

During the nine-month period, road accidents accounted for 98.58 percent of the total cases and caused 97.8 percent of deaths and 99.47 percent of the injured.

Rail accidents followed, with 114 cases, 94 people deaths, and 49 injured people.

In September (calculated from August 16 to September 15) alone, the entire nation witnessed 1,460 accidents, leaving 646 people dead and 1,119 injured.

Compared to September 2017, the number of cases and injured people reduced by 7.42 and 12.44 percent, respectively, while that of deaths increased 4.19 percent.

Losses caused by traffic accidents in Vietnam amount to 50 trillion VND (over 2.12 billion USD) each year, equivalent to 30 percent of budget spending on education, or 1. 5 million people going without income for the whole year.

The information was released at a ceremony on September 27 for the signing of a cooperation agreement between the National Traffic Safety Committee and the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM).

2018 is the fourth year that the National Traffic Safety Committee and the VAMM have joined hands to address issues related to traffic safety in the country through communication campaigns and research.

In particular, the results and recommendations of the five research projects funded by VAMM research fund have provided useful reference for the National Traffic Safety Committee and related agencies in designing policies and measures to improve traffic safety.

This year, the two sides launched a film contest on traffic safety entitled “I know, I change”.-VNA