VIETNAM NEWS: Vietnam’s Still High Road Traffic Accident Rates

Vietnam’s road crash rate is still too high and causing concern. Recent measures such as requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets have helped reduce the country’s death toll on its roads, but the casualty statistics are still a major issue. The official data from the National Traffic Safety Committee in Vietnam shows that there were around 5,000 crashes recorded in the first quarter of 2016. These crashes injured over 4,500 and killed close to 2,200 people. The police also fined the drivers of over 909,000 vehicles and collected US$27.11 million in traffic fines. On a positive note, the number of deaths was 6.5% lower for the first quarter of 2016 than for the same period in 2015. Also on a positive note, the number of injuries and crashes decreased by 17.7% and 14.8% respectively.