The number of people killed by road traffic accidents in Vietnam has dropped by nearly half from about 30 per day before 2012 to about 17 per day in 2022, according to Khuat Viet Hung, Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee.

He shared the information at an event held on May 14 at Hanoi Metro’s Cat Linh Station to mark 7th UN Global Road Safety Week.

Hung attributed the reduction to the great determination of both the authorities and road users, but warned that the figure remains high and the losses due to traffic accidents still amount to 2.5% of Vietnam’s GDP.

Speaking at the event, WHO Representative in Vietnam Angela Pratt praised Vietnam for its progress on road safety but urged the country to do more.

She recommended five areas for improvement, namely using child restraints and seatbelts in cars, lowering speed limits around schools, wearing qualified helmets, especially for children on motorbikes and electric bikes, enforcing drink driving rules, and enhancing road infrastructure safety.

At the ceremony, the National Traffic Safety Committee launched a campaign to raise awareness of drivers about complying with speed limits.

The Global Road Safety Week will run from May 15-25 with various activities across the country to encourage people to voluntarily follow road safety rules, switch to public transport, and yield to pedestrians to make Vietnam’s roads cleaner and safer.

Vietnam aims to cut the number of deaths and injuries related to road accidents by 10-15% annually.

Source: Dtinews