In 2017, there were around 20,000 traffic accidents and 8,279 traffic deaths, according to statistics compiled by the National Traffic Safety Committee.
According to a report on traffic safety in Vietnam by Vietnamplus, which analyzed 144 severe traffic accidents across the country from 2013 to 2017, 98.61% of these accidents were caused by male drivers. The majority of traffic victims were also male, making up 68.99% of all victims. A severe traffic accident is defined as one with a death toll greater than three.
The report also found that the age group most responsible for severe accidents, those aged 30 to 34 years old, caused 20.29% of accidents. This number is followed by the 35-39 age group, which caused 16.67% of accidents, and the 20-24 age group, which was accountable for 15.22% of accidents. Motorcycle drivers are responsible for the majority of the accidents.
Most of the severe traffic accidents in question were caused by speeding — 83 out of 144 accidents over the past five years have been caused by a driver losing control at high speed. The second-most common cause of severe accidents was driving in the wrong lane. The deadliest hour of these severe traffic accidents was 9pm, followed by 3pm and 4am.
The findings also reveal that Hanoi tops the list of the areas where most of these severe traffic accidents occur, followed by Thanh Hoa and Gia Lai.
"We're living in peacetime but the number of deaths and injuries from traffic accidents is on par with war times," said Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The during a speech at a writing competition on traffic safety earlier this year.
[Photo via VTC]
