The National Traffic Safety Committee and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha jointly conducted a grand requiem for dead victims of traffic accidents nationwide in Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam on August 30-31.

The two-day event took place at Tu Dam Pagoda with the participation of representatives of concerned agencies, leaders of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, monks, nuns, Buddhists and relatives of the victims from all over the country to pray for people who passed away due to traffic accidents.

The requiem was part of a series of activities organized by the committee in response to the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which is held on the third Sunday of November every year to call on everyone to respect and comply with traffic laws.

Over the past eight months, about 16,000 traffic accidents have happened across the Southeast Asian country, killing 7,077 people and injuring more than 12,000.

On average, traffic accidents take the lives of around 28 people and leave nearly 60 people disabled for life every day in Vietnam, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.

Compared to the same period last year, the total number of accidents and deaths have been lower but the tally of tragic and heartbreaking accidents has been higher.

Delegates at the memorial service observed a moment of silence to remember the victims of traffic accidents.

Speaking at the event, Most Venerable Thich Khe Chon, vice chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Central Executive Council and head of the Executive Board of the Thua Thien-Hue Buddhist Sangha, wished to extend to everyone a message that they should enhance their awareness of compliance with traffic laws, the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) reported.

On this occasion, the traffic safety committee presented gifts to a number of relatives of dead traffic victims.

This year, the requiem was held in Hue for the first time after similar events in the previous years in the northern and southern regions, according to Le Kim Thanh, vice chairman of the committee.

One of the reasons for choosing Hue as the venue for the service is the central region has suffered a number of critical traffic accidents this year, Thanh said.

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