Road traffic accidents killed 138 people across Vietnam during the five-day holiday marking Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers’ Day (May 1), a drop of 32.35 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The death toll was recorded in 347 road crashes nationwide, which also injured 285 people, during the break period from April 27 to May 1.

Along with the sharp reduction in fatality, the numbers of accidents and wounded people also decreased from a year earlier, by 9.16 percent and 1.38 percent, respectively, Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper reported, citing the ministry.

There was one waterway traffic accident that took one life while no crash occurred on the railway. 

The period saw traffic police handle 77,431 cases of road traffic violations, impose fines worth more than VND170 billion (US$6.7 million), revoke 14,987 driver’s licenses, and impound 1,163 cars, 28,015 motorbikes, and 561 other vehicles. 

Among the traffic violators were 21,369 drivers under the influence of alcohol, 21,088 overspeeding, and 87 abusing drugs.

On the waterway and railway, there were 696 and 19 instances of traffic violations, respectively. The fines for these violations amounted to VND728 million ($28,700) and VND11 million ($434), respectively.

The National Committee for Traffic Safety reported congestion at the entrances of major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City during the beginning and end of the five-day break, stemming from a sharp increase in traffic volume, as people returned to their hometowns and got back to the cities for work.

Local traffic police units deployed their forces to the congestion points to moderate traffic flows and remove traffic jams. 

The hotlines of the committee received 26 reports from local residents regarding traffic congestion, collisions, and cramming passengers into vehicles.

Following these calls, the committee coordinated with relevant agencies to verify the reports and deal with the incidents.

In Vietnam, memorial services are conducted in November annually to commemorate the dead victims of traffic accidents and call for strict compliance with traffic rules. 

Such events are aimed at responding to the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents, which falls on the third Sunday in November each year, as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.

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