SGGP English Edition- Average Monthly Traffic Fatalities to October 2007: 1,100

SOCIETY

Monday , Nov 19, 2007, Posted at: 17:24(GMT+7)

Average Monthly Traffic Fatalities to October 2007: 1,100

Traffic accidents claimed 10,892 lives in the first 10 months of 2007, averaging some 1,100 accident deaths a month, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.

A recent road accident

In October alone, as many as 1,095 traffic accidents occurred, killing 973 people and injuring 733 others. Of these, trains were involved in 35, rivers in 16, eight occurred at sea and the remainder were on roads.

The traffic committee reports Viet Nam now has close to 21.2 million motorbikes and more than 1 million automobiles under registration and, in October alone, some 270,000 motorbikes and 14,650 autos were registered.

Government has asked all sectors and agencies to reduce the number of accidents by raising awareness of traffic laws and drivers’ responsibilities.

At a question-and-answer session of the 12th National Assembly on November 17, upon being asked about the increase in the number of traffic accidents and congestion in urban areas, Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung said propaganda and strict punishment are effective solutions.

“It is necessary to develop public transport systems, encourage people to get the habit of walking and increase registration fees to reduce the number of private vehicles,” the minister suggested.

For comparison's sake, according to the 2006 report "HIV/AIDS In Viet Nam" by the VIET NAM Comission for Population, Family and Children (VCPFC) and the US Population Reference Bureau (PRB), Viet Nam's 2005 AIDS deaths projected to 2007 at their 2005/2004 growth rate of some 20% a year would amount to some 14,600 a year, 1,217 a month, well exceeding this year's traffic deaths, perhaps for the first time ever.

Source: VNA, VietnamNet – Translated by Thuy Hang