VietNamNet Bridge - According to Minister of Transportation Dinh La Thang, in the first four months of 2013, traffic accidents claimed the lives of 3,364 people, an increase of 0.35 percent over the same period of last year.

Thang has sent a report on the operation of the transport sector to National Assembly deputies. According to the report, the Ministry began collecting road maintenance fees from January 1, 2013. By the end of April, VND1.4 trillion ($70 million) was collected.

The Ministry also submitted to the Prime Minister the plan on restructuring toll stations to avoid fee overlap. The Prime Minister agreed to eliminate the toll stations that collect toll for the state budget, for paying loans and those that selling the toll collection rights.

The report said that in January-April of 2013, the number of injured victims in road accidents continued to decrease but the number of deaths due to traffic accidents increased slightly to 3,364 people. Compared to the same period of last year, the number of fatal traffic accidents decreased but the number of dead victims increased by 0.36 percent.

This year the Ministry set a target of 5-10 percent reduction of accidents, deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents, minimizing traffic congestion cases lasting more than 30 minutes in Hanoi and HCM City.

The Ministry cooperated with the authorities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to implement comprehensive solutions to deal with traffic congestion. These solutions helped reduced the sites of frequent traffic jams in Hanoi by 46 percent and 36.6 percent in HCM City in 2012 compared with 2011. The number of traffic jams that lasted over 30 minutes almost did not happen, according to the report by Minister Thang.

Linh Thu