The Lunar New Year holiday season is the 'season' of traffic accidents.

(Baonghean)During the month of January – the month of festivals – ensuring traffic safety and order to minimize the risk of accidents becomes extremely urgent.

The number of deaths due to traffic accidents during the Lunar New Year of the Rooster (2017) increased compared to last year.

Among the traffic accidents that occurred during the recent Lunar New Year holiday in the province, some left extremely serious consequences, such as: At 1 PM on February 1st (the 5th day of the Lunar New Year), a particularly serious traffic accident occurred at Ro Bridge, in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district.

Accordingly, at that time, a car with license plate 37C - 062.02, driven by Mr. Pham Van Lai (41 years old) residing in Vinh City, was traveling on Ro Bridge when it collided with two motorbikes with license plates 29U6 - 2956 and 37H6 - 4607 that were traveling in the opposite direction.

The powerful collision sent three people on two motorbikes flying over the railing of the Rộ bridge into the Lam River. As a result, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Xuan (61 years old) and her daughter-in-law Vi Thi Hue died on the spot, while 3-year-old Vo Hung Huy was seriously injured and also died later.

The people strictly obeyed the instructions of the traffic police officers. Photo: Canh Nam

Mr. Vo Van Tinh, 30 years old (Hue's husband), was thrown into the bridge railing, severing his leg. All the victims resided in Thanh Duong commune, Thanh Chuong district. According to Colonel Luong The Loc, Head of the Thanh Chuong District Police, the car driver violated traffic laws by speeding, encroaching on the motorbike lane, and having a blood alcohol concentration exceeding the legal limit of 0.37 milligrams/liter of breath.

During the Tet holiday, a particularly serious traffic accident occurred in Tuong Duong district, resulting in the deaths of three people. At approximately 4 PM on January 29th, a motorbike carrying three people traveling on National Highway 7A, through Luu Kien commune (Tuong Duong district), collided with a car bearing Lao license plates. The powerful impact caused all three people – the son-in-law Duong Van Pieng (born in 1992 in Lo village) and his wife's parents, Mr. Lu Van Cong and Mrs. Lo Thi Choi (from Ang village, Xa Luong commune) – to be thrown from the motorbike and die instantly.

Not only on national highways, but also on provincial roads, district roads, inter-communal roads, etc., serious traffic accidents occur. For example, the railway accident on February 1st in Quynh Luu district when a four-seater car with license plate 37A 26... deliberately crossed a level crossing to get to Cau Giat and was hit by a train traveling from Vinh to Hanoi, sending it flying into a field 10 meters from its original position.

It's still a matter of public awareness.

According to statistics from the Nghe An Department of Health, from the 29th day of the 12th lunar month to the 6th day of the 1st lunar month, out of 6,449 people admitted to emergency rooms, 1,143 were hospitalized due to traffic accidents (including 6 cases of traumatic brain injury requiring surgery and 2 deaths).

During Tet (Lunar New Year), people often drive under the influence of alcohol. The accident caused by driver Nguyen Van Lai, which killed three people in Thanh Chuong, is one example.

Furthermore, during Tet (Lunar New Year), a large number of students, workers, and others return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. This group is mainly young people, many of whom have very poor traffic awareness. Observations show that on most village roads, alleyways, and national, provincial, and district highways, many young people ride motorbikes without helmets, speeding, overtaking recklessly, and riding side-by-side, occupying almost the entire road, creating a very high risk of traffic accidents.

In addition, the traffic police and transport inspectors are understaffed during the Tet holiday, and when violations are detected, they mainly issue warnings, sometimes not imposing penalties decisively enough, leading many people to become complacent.

In addition, there was an objective reason: the sunny and dry weather during the Lunar New Year of the Rooster (2017) led to a higher volume of traffic compared to the Lunar New Year of the Monkey (2016).

Although the Lunar New Year has passed, January, with its numerous festivals, sees a high demand for visiting temples and pagodas to pray for good fortune and blessings, as well as increased travel, which in turn increases the risk of traffic congestion, chaos, and accidents. A prime example is the persistent increase in traffic safety issues at temples and pagodas due to lax coordination between local authorities and temple management boards.

Most roads leading to temples and pagodas are always congested during peak days, largely due to the poor traffic awareness of the public, coupled with the encroachment of makeshift stalls and parking lots on the roads and sidewalks.

Many young people participating in traffic during Tet (Lunar New Year) did not wear helmets. Photo: Canh Nam

Colonel Cao Minh Phuong, Head of the Traffic Police Department of Nghe An Provincial Police, advised: Nghe An has many temples and festivals taking place in January and February, so there will be a lot of traffic, especially at temples and pagodas close to national highways (Cuong Temple, Cua Rao Temple, Ong Hoang Muoi Temple), and inter-communal roads (Con Temple)... Every road user must strictly comply with the Road and Rail Traffic Law. In particular, absolutely no driving under the influence of alcohol is allowed.

On the part of the sector, in addition to continuing to implement traffic safety plans, they will coordinate with local authorities to strengthen propaganda and raise public awareness when participating in traffic at festival locations; and continue to mobilize maximum forces and vehicles for patrolling, controlling, and guiding traffic at intersections and hotspots with complex traffic safety issues.

In areas where festivals are taking place, patrol and control efforts will be intensified to promptly prevent and decisively handle traffic safety violations, especially in temple and pagoda areas, contributing to ensuring a safe festival season for the people.

Canh Nam