As many as 20,080 traffic accidents were reported in 2017, killing 8,279 people and injuring 17,040 others, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety. 

The scene of a road accident 

The committee revealed at a teleconference in Hanoi on January 3 that the numbers represented respective decreases of 1,509, 406 and 2,240 in cases, fatalities and injuries as compared with the previous year. 

Traffic jams developed complicatedly in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, it said, adding that 87 prolonged traffic jams were reported in the year due to accidents, vehicle fleet inflows and other mishaps. 

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is also Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, asked competent forces to pay attention to handling overloaded vehicles and determine responsibility of heads of ministries, agencies and localities. 

Talking about the Traffic Safety Year 2018’s theme of “Traffic safety for children,” the Deputy PM said deaths among children in 2017 were mainly caused by traffic accidents. 

It is the responsibility of all to protect and care for children, and raise their awareness of traffic safety, he said, stressing the UN General Assembly’s goal of reducing global road traffic deaths by half by 2020. 

Binh asked ministries, agencies and localities to take solutions to ensure traffic safety in order to raise public awareness, especially among young people, aiming to cutting traffic accidents by 5-10 percent, in terms of cases, fatalities and injuries. 

The numbers of deaths and injuries among children in 2018 should drop by 10 percent against the previous year, he said. 

Besides, efforts should be doubled to ease traffic jams in big cities, particularly Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the official added.

Regarding build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects, Binh underlined the need to ensure the transparent implementation of the projects and select capable and experienced investors to ensure their quality and prevent public protest, causing traffic disorder.-VNA