HCMC aims to cut at least 5% of traffic fatalities in 2015

The Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Safety Committee has initiated its action plan in response to the 2015 National Traffic Safety Year, with an aim to reduce the number of traffic accidents and the resulting deaths and injuries in the city this year by at least five percent each compared to those in 2014.

>> Vietnam targets traffic death reduction of up to 10% this year

Based on the conception that “Human life is above all,” the action plan will focus on tightening the control of transportation businesses and vehicle loading capacities, the committee said Tuesday at a ceremony to kick off the plan.

Besides the targets on the number of traffic accidents and the resulting deaths and injuries, the municipal authorities will also strive to prevent any traffic jams that last for over thirty minutes, deputy chairman of the local People’s Committee Tat Thanh Cang said at the ceremony.

In order to meet the set targets, local concerned agencies should strengthen propaganda activities to enhance public awareness of compliance with traffic rules and build a “good traffic culture” among the citizens, he said.

In addition, better arrangement of traffic routes and lanes, stricter control over overloaded trucks, and further improvements to public transport means are among the key tasks that need to be done this year, the official said.

At the ceremony, many transport associations, transport firms, and competent agencies signed their written commitments to fulfill all the requirements set for the year to ensure traffic safety, especially during the coming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which will fall on February 19.

On January 13, the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) held an online conference to review the sector’s performance in ensuring traffic order and safety in 2014 and announced a national program for the 2015 National Traffic Safety Year.

The aim of the program is to lower the number of traffic accidents and the resulting deaths and injuries in 2015 by 5-10 percent each compared to those of last year, according to the NTSC.

The year 2014 saw more than 25,000 traffic accidents occur across the country, causing nearly 9,000 deaths, the lowest death rate in the past several years, the NTSC said at the conference.

According to the NSTC’s official statistics, 25,322 traffic accidents happened nationwide from December 16, 2013 to December 15, 2014, killing 8,996 people and injuring 24,417 others.

Compared to the preceding 12 months, the numbers of traffic accidents and the resulting deaths and injuries went down by 13.8 percent, four percent, and 17.2 percent respectively.

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