A total of 46 people were killed and 53 others injured in traffic accidents across Vietnam over the weekend, as the country entered three festive days marking National Day (September 2).

Eighty-three traffic crashes occurred in Vietnam from September 1 to 3, claiming 46 lives and injuring 53 people, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

The number of accidents decreased by 12 compared to last year’s National Day break, according to Nguyen Trong Thai, the committee’s head of office.

The crashes were mainly caused by motorcyclists, who often broke traffic laws by failing to wear safety helmets, speeding, driving in wrong lanes, and driving under the influence of alcohol, Thai elaborated.

A serious road crash happened at around 15:30 pm on Monday when a rescue truck plunged off a cliff in the northern province of Hoa Binh.

Two people in the truck’s cabin, including the 28-year-old driver Chu Danh Binh and 36-year-old Nguyen Van Tung, were killed at the scene.

The rescue truck was carrying a 16-seater coach and lost its control during a curve, officers stated.

During the three-day holiday, traffic police units dealt with nearly 16,800 traffic violations throughout the country, issuing fines worth more than VND9 billion (US$385,852) and revoking 542 driver’s licenses.

Multiple passenger buses were caught with overloading and overcharging.

Many of these cases were reported by commuters via the hotlines of the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

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