Car-related accidents have happened more frequently with about 27 percent of total road accidents caused by cars in 2016 though automobiles make up only 6 percent of total vehicles in Vietnam.

The figures were released by Khuat Viet Hung, Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, at a teleconference reviewing the Traffic Safety Year 2016 in Hanoi on January 4.

There were 21,589 traffic accidents last year, killing 8,685 people and injuring 19,280 others. The mortality fell by only 0.49 percent, compared to the National Assembly’s targeted decrease of 5 percent.

Up to 97.7 percent of the traffic accidents happened on road, with 96.9 percent of the dead and 98.7 percent of the injured, he reported.

Forty provinces and cities had their traffic deaths drop while 20 others saw the mortality increase in 2016.

Hung attributed the fact to the lax management of traffic safety and commuters’ low awareness. Meanwhile, a Ho Chi Minh City official blamed subjective faults for causing 92 percent of the traffic accidents.

At the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is also Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, said the surge of personal vehicles, the slow expansion of transport infrastructure, the mushrooming of high-rises in inner areas, and the sluggish development of public transport have resulted in a great pressure on transport in Hanoi and HCM City.

He said Vietnam is joining other countries in realising the UN’s Resolution A/RES/70/260 on improving global road safety, which targets road casualties by 2020 reducing 50 percent from 2010.

He asked the National Traffic Safety Committee and its local agencies to reduce the numbers of accidents, deaths and injuries this year by 5-10 percent from 2016. They must work to cut the road death number to below 8,500, curb congestion in big cities, especially Hanoi and HCM City, and raise commuters’ awareness.

They also have to improve the State management of traffic safety, overhaul relevant legal regulations, step up patrols, and strictly punish violations. Meanwhile, Hanoi and HCM City should apply more information technology in monitoring, managing and controlling traffic, and responding to emergencies, Deputy PM Binh added.

VNA