Drink, drugs are main causes of traffic accidents: Deputy PM
Alcohol and drugs are blamed for many serious traffic accidents this year, said Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Truong Hoa Binh on October 16.
Alcohol and drugs are blamed for many serious traffic accidents this year. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Alcohol and drugs are blamed for many serious trafficaccidents this year, said Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the NationalTraffic Safety Committee Truong Hoa Binh on October 16.
Speaking at a national teleconferenceon traffic safety held by the National Traffic Safety Committee, Binh saidalthough with the involvement the entire political system, traffic accidentshad decreased in terms of incidents, deaths and injuries, the situation wasstill serious.
In addition, violationsof transport business conditions and overloading still occur in many places,and traffic congestion in large cities is on the rise, he said.
The Deputy PM asked relevant authorities to analyse weaknesses in the transportsector and identify shortcomings in order to improve road safety.
Khuat Viet Hung, deputy head of National Traffic Safety Committee, said in thefirst nine months of the year, there were 12,600 traffic accidents nationwide,killing more than 5,600 people, and injuring more than 9,600 people.
Compared to the same period in 2018, the number of traffic accidents decreasedby nearly 600, the number of deaths fell by 353, the number of injured peopledropped by 700. In 7,319 accidents thatwere studied, more than 22 percent of drivers were violating lanes and roadsections; nearly 2 percent of drivers used alcohol; more than 35 percentwere caused by violations of road sign regulations, drivers with no validlicence, vehicle safety, traffic works and other causes, he said.
To reduce accidents in the last months of the year, Hung said the NationalTraffic Safety Committee will direct agencies at all levels to amend andsupplement legal documents; improve infrastructure, strictly manage the qualityof infrastructure maintenance; and enhance the quality of training and testingof vehicles.
"Patrolling and handling of violations need to be done substantially,” Hungsuggested.
“The authorities need to strictly handle acts of driving under the influence ofalcohol and drugs, violations of helmet wearing regulations, not wearing seatbelts when riding in cars and using phones when driving," he added./.
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Alcohol and drugs are blamed for many serious traffic accidents this year. (Photo: VNA) 
