Nearly 100 traffic accidents occurred nationwide on Thursday and Friday, claiming the lives of almost 50 people and injuring about 60 others. 

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Forty-seven people died and 59 others were injured in 99 traffic accidents that took place across Vietnam on Thursday and Friday, the first two days of 2015, the National Traffic Safety Committee said. On Friday, 60 road accidents were recorded throughout the country, killing 27 people and wounding 34 others. Compared to New Year’s Day, the number of accidents increased by 21, the death toll rose by seven, and the count of wounded people went up by nine, the committee said.

Police handled about 11,000 traffic rule violations and impounded 14 automobiles together with 1,358 motorbikes on Friday. They also issued fines totaling VND5.79 billion (US$273,113) to traffic violators nationwide.

On Thursday, traffic cops dealt with 13,265 instances of rule infringement, held 22 cars and 1,603 motorbikes, and collected VND7.74 billion ($365,094) in fines. Several serious traffic accidents were recorded on the two days, the committee said. One of them happened in the northern province of Thanh Hoa on January 2, when a freightliner hit and killed two pedestrians. Another accident occurred the same day between a trailer truck and a motorbike in the northern city of Hai Phong, killing the bike’s driver.   One more case took place on January 1 afternoon, when a truck carrying scrap iron turned over on a National Highway 4D section that links the two towns Sa Pa and Lao Cai in the northern province of Lao Cai. This crash caused no casualties but resulted in serious congestion that lasted for more than three hours.  The committee reported that its emergency telephone line system received 70 complaints from the public on the two days. Most of the complaints were about trucks carrying overloaded goods, buses transporting passengers above the allowable limit, passenger transport firms increasing ticket prices, the committee said.

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