Handling drivers driving bareheaded, drinking too much, speeding during Tet

To ensure traffic order and safety during the remaining peak days of the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival season, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc - Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee has just issued an official dispatch requesting ministries, central branches and the Traffic Safety Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to increase patrols, control, detect and strictly handle traffic violations.

Traffic police will strictly handle motorcyclists who do not wear helmets and exceed the speed limit. (Photo: VNA)

The dispatch stated that during the peak period of ensuring traffic order and safety and transportation activities to serve the Lunar New Year 2016, the National Traffic Safety Committee highly appreciated the efforts of agencies, units and enterprises participating in ensuring traffic order and safety to serve people's convenient and safe travel.

However, in the 4 days from February 7-10, 2016 (from the 29th to the 3rd day of Tet), there were 161 accidents nationwide, killing 101 people and injuring 163 people. Compared to the 4 days of the Lunar New Year 2015, there were 86 fewer accidents (-34.8%), 41 fewer deaths (-28.9%) and 83 fewer injuries (-33.7%).

“In particular, on February 10 (the third day of the Lunar New Year), although traffic accidents decreased significantly compared to the third day of the Lunar New Year 2015, they were still at a high level, with 57 incidents, killing 37 people and injuring 65 people, much higher than the previous three days of the Lunar New Year. Even violations of traffic order and safety tended to increase, especially violations of alcohol concentration, driving through red lights, not wearing helmets when riding motorbikes, electric bicycles, carrying more people than allowed, and speeding,” the telegram of the National Traffic Safety Committee said.

In order to ensure traffic order and safety during the remaining peak days of the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival season, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport and the Traffic Safety Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to strengthen the direction of the provincial and municipal police forces to mobilize the maximum number of traffic police forces to coordinate with other police forces (Order Police, Commune Police, etc.) to step up patrols, control, detect and strictly handle violations of traffic order and safety, especially acts of driving motor vehicles: violating alcohol concentration, exceeding the prescribed speed, not wearing helmets, carrying more people than the prescribed number; increase patrols and controls on provincial, district and rural roads.

Relevant units regularly arrange forces to be on duty on routes and areas with the highest risk of traffic congestion, such as gateway areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, key national highways such as National Highways 1, 5, 14, especially during the last 2 days of the holiday, determined to not let prolonged congestion occur.

The Department of Transport continues to strictly implement the maintenance plan, organize traffic, ensure traffic safety conditions of infrastructure; inspect the implementation of the transport plan to serve people from the holiday destination to their place of residence and work after Tet; strengthen inspection and supervision of the quality of road, rail, inland waterway and air transport activities; coordinate with agencies and units to strictly inspect the safety conditions of vehicles, strictly handle the situation of illegal fare increases, carrying more people than prescribed; be on duty 24/7 to promptly handle people's complaints about violations of passenger transport activities and traffic congestion via the hotline.

Authorities will increase inspections and strictly punish passenger vans that carry more passengers than allowed and increase ticket prices. (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+)

District and commune traffic safety committees must strengthen vigilance measures, ensure traffic safety at road and railway intersections without barriers, strictly manage safety at river crossings and tourist attractions; resolutely prevent overloading, vehicles that do not ensure technical safety, and illegal operations from leaving the port.

Central and local media agencies, especially television stations, broadcasting stations, and grassroots radio systems, should strengthen propaganda and mobilize people to comply with legal regulations on traffic safety and order, including the need to absolutely comply with the regulations: do not drive if you drink alcohol; wear a helmet when riding a motorbike, scooter, or electric bicycle; do not speed or overtake recklessly; do not carry more people than the prescribed number; wear a life jacket or life-saving buoyancy device when using inland waterway vehicles; do not cross a railway crossing when there is a warning signal of an approaching train and observe safety when crossing unmarked residential crossings./.

According to Vietnam+