Nguyen Tien Dinh does not quite believe that using signs with text and photos is an effective solution to raise public awareness of traffic safety in Vietnam.

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Instead, the businessman who sells construction materials in the central province of Nghe An has come up with an idea to make a like-no-other traffic danger sign in his hometown.

Erected on the roadside of the National Highway No.1A and next to the North-South railways passing the province, the offbeat sign consists of two concrete platforms with a smashed seven-seat car atop. The structure is high enough for people to notice afar.

Below the car wreckage is a hazard symbol featuring a skull and crossbones and a giant message in red that reads “Beware of Traffic Accidents.”

The car was destroyed during an accident in another locality, and Dinh spent VND20 million (roughly US$1,000) buying its wreckage, he told Tuoi Tre.

The businessman, who is director of the mom-and-pop Dinh Nhan Co Ltd based in the province’s capital city of Vinh, then hired builders to make two concrete seven-meter poles to elevate the wreckage.

It cost Dinh a total of VND120 million ($5,660) and took the builders four months to complete the unique traffic sign.

Dinh said he had long wanted to make such a sign after witnessing many fatal road accidents. A real, severely damaged car may create a more dramatic impact on the drivers, he said.

“It seems to me that no one ever notices traffic signs in Vietnam,” he added.

“So my idea is to use a powerful image to warn drivers.

“Hopefully it could help reduce traffic accidents.”

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