458 traffic accidents occurred during the past seven Tet days between January 28 and February 3, killing 212 people and injuring 481 others, the National Traffic Safety Committee reported.

>> 27 die daily in traffic accidents during Tet fest Compared to the same period last year, the number of traffic accidents increased by 131, the death toll decreased by 52, while the number of injured people surged by 182. Monday alone saw 91 road accidents that killed 49 people, the highest daily toll during the past seven Tet days. Of the 458 accidents, 452 happened on the road, killing 206 people and injuring 481; five occurred on railways, killing five people, and the remaining one happened on waterway, claiming one life. There were no serious traffic accidents nationwide, the committee reported. Yesterday, February 3, transport minister Dinh La Thang, who is also standing deputy chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, visited traffic victims at the Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi. During the January 31-February 3 period, the hospital conducted emergency treatment on 400 traffic victims. Meanwhile, the traffic police sector reported that they handled 23,290 traffic violations nationwide, temporarily seizing 17 cars and 5,423 motorbikes, and issuing fines totaling over VND10 billion (US$480,000) during the past seven days. On Monday alone, 2,000 violations were handled and 951 motorbikes were impounded. The National Traffic Safety Committee reported that they received nearly 500 phone calls made through the hot lines set up by the committee nationwide. Most of the calls were reports about vehicles carrying overloaded passengers and about staffs of transport firms overcharging passengers. These reports were referred to competent agencies for handling, the committee said.