A memorial service and requiem was held in Ho Chi Minh City-based Vinh Nghiem Pagoda on Sunday for the dead victims of road accidents in Vietnam, where 25 people die of road traffic accidents everyday.
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The event was co-organized by the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), as part of activities to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents, which falls on the third Sunday of November each year. Thousands of Buddhist monks, nuns, believers and relatives of traffic accident victims took part in the event. Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang, deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee Tat Thanh Cang and other officials also attended the memorial service. Addressing the memorial service, Minister Thang called upon agencies at all levels, organizations, and members of the public to raise awareness on the regulations on traffic safety and order, and share the grief suffered by the victims’ families. Addressing the event, Superior Buddhist Monk Thich Thien Tanh said, “Everyone love their lives, but with only a short moment of carelessness during travel, they can cause unforeseeable consequences.”
Participants of the memorial service pay tribute to victims of traffic accidents (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Every people must respect traffic laws and drive carefully for safety of themselves and others, said Thich Thien Nhon, Acting Chairman of the VBS Executive Committee. Speaking at the requiem, Minister Thang shared the grief suffered by the victims’ families, and called on everybody to strictly comply with the regulations on traffic safety and order. In Vietnam, around 9,000 people die in road accidents every year, almost 25 deaths per day, and hundreds of thousands of others suffer life-time injuries, the minister said. Over the past 10 months of the year, road accidents killed 7,000 people, according to National Traffic Safety Committee’s statistics. In the world, road accidents claim about 1.3 million lives every year, and the figure is forecast to increase to 1.8-1.9 million in the near future. The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was started by RoadPeace in 1993 and it has been observed and promoted worldwide. On October 26, 2005, the United Nations endorsed every third Sunday in November each year as a global day to be observed to remember those who died or were injured from road accidents and the plight of their loved ones who suffer the consequences of their deaths or injuries.
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