Vietnam commemorates victims of traffic accidents
- Drink, drugs are main causes of traffic accidents: Deputy PM
- 73 traffic accidents reported during holiday
- Nearly 100 people killed by road accidents during holidays
The event was held to observe the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents, which falls on November 17 each year. The ceremony aims to raise awareness of the community in abiding by the traffic law and calling on them to assist the victims and their families.
 |
| Delegates pay a minute of silence in memory of the victims. |
The participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims and the organizing board delivered relief aid to representatives of bereaved families.
Speaking at the event, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is also head of the national committee, said that traffic accidents take the life of over 8,000 people and injured more than 15,000 others in Vietnam each year.
Losses caused by traffic accidents are causing adverse influences on the country’s economic growth and hurting the image of Vietnam in the eye of foreign friends and partners, the official stressed.
He called on relevant State offices, organizations and the whole people to seriously abide by legal provisions on traffic safety, adding the community should join hands to build and implement the traffic civilization and to ease the pains of the families of traffic accidents.
In October alone, the whole country saw more than 114,000 traffic accidents that took the life of over 6,000 people and injured more than 10,000 others, lower than the figures recorded the same time last year.
Since 2005 the United Nations has been remembering the many millions killed and injured on the world's roads together with their families and friends on the third Sunday of November every year. Vietnam began to observe the day in 2012.
Despite the decrease in the number of traffic accidents and fatalities, traffic safety situation remains unpredictable. Vietnam posted traffic fatalities of 6,318 and a further 10,000 injured people in the first 10 months of 2019.
