The number of traffic accidents and resulting deaths and injuries all decreased in the six months ending on June 15 compared to the same period last year, the National Traffic Safety Committee reported on Thursday. From December 16, 2014 to June 15, 2015, 11,179 traffic accidents occurred nationwide, killing 4,478 people and injuring 10,149 others, the committee said. As such, 746 people died per month on average in traffic accidents over the period, or nearly 25 people per day.  In comparison with the same period last year, the numbers of traffic accidents and resulting deaths and injuries are down by 12.85 percent, 4.5 percent and 17.24 percent respectively. In the period from May 16 to June 15, 743 people died and 1,595 others were wounded in 1,861 traffic accidents across the country, the committee said. As compared year-on-year, the number of deaths in that period fell by 18, or 2.37 percent, and the injuries decreased by 112, or 6.56 percent, while the number of accidents dropped by 194, or 9.44 percent. During the six-month period, traffic police officers nationwide handled over 2.036 million instances of road rule violations, issued fines totaling VND1.276 trillion (US$56.48 million), impounded 21,544 automobiles and 238,367 motorbikes, and revoked 171,114 driver’s licenses, the committee said.

During the same period, police also dealt with 94,766 violations of waterway regulations around the country and collected VND48.5 billion ($2.22 million) worth of fines.

On average, road accidents kill around 9,000 people in Vietnam every year – almost 25 deaths per day – and leave hundreds of thousands of others with life-time injuries, Transport Minister Dinh La Thang said at a requiem held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 10, 2014 for the dead victims. The event was organized to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents, which falls on the third Sunday of November each year. Worldwide, 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 future, according to the committee.

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