Da Nang’s Party Secretary has promised to relieve a number of officials, including its transport department's director, of their posts if accident rates in the city fail to fall.

The announcement came on Monday at an emergency meeting to discuss solutions for lowering the number of traffic accidents in Da Nang, after a series of fatal road crashes involving tippers traumatized local residents.

Reports by the police chief of Da Nang showed that the number of accidents, fatalities, and injuries all increases during the first quarter of 2016.

Le Ngoc, head of Da Nang’s traffic police division, said that since December 16, 2015 there had been 25 accidents in Da Nang, four of which involved tippers, killing three.

Ngoc attributed these accidents to the recent decision by the Ministry of Transport to raise the speed limit on roads across the country, an increased volume of traffic after Tet (Viet Nam's Lunar New Year), and poor road awareness by drivers.

“The Ministry of Transport raised the speed limit to 60km/h but failed to clarify the minimum distance between vehicles,” explained Nguyen Van Nghia, chief inspector of Da Nang’s Department of Transport.

The site of an accident involving a tipper in Da Nang, Viet Nam, March 6, 2016 Tuoi Tre

At the meeting, Da Nang’s Party Secretary Nguyen Xuan Anh directed the municipal People’s Committee and the departments involved to reestablish order on the road, especially concerning tippers and trucks.

Anh also said that if accidents involving these vehicles do not reduce, the city’s highest authorities would be fired or transferred, including its director of transport and top officials in Cam Le District, where the crashes have occurred.

He also called for public assistance in supervising the work of transport officials, traffic police, and other bodies to keep tippers in control, and encouraged members of the public to report immediately to him via his personal number or email.

The secretary promised to take note of, verify, and handle each incident reported by the people and the media.

In an effort to reduce accidents in the city, Chairman Huynh Duc Tho of the People’s Committee of Da Nang demanded the immediate establishment of a lower speed limit on high-risk roads, despite this against regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Transport.

“We have to take responsibility for accidents in our own region,” Tho said. "Formal procedures can wait.”

(Source: Tuoi Tre News)