Between late June and July, some serious road traffic accidents have occurred in Da Nang, together claiming many lives and injuring others.

A traffic police officer inspecting a car driver

Notable amongst the serious incidents was a multiple –vehicle crash at the intersection of the Tran Phu and Hung Vuong streets in early last month.  In the end, the accident left one dead and two others seriously wounded.

According to the municipal Traffic Safety Bard, the tragedies were mainly caused by road users’ incompliance with the national traffic regulations.  The violations included running through the red light, exceeding the speed limit, travelling in the wrong lanes and directions, riding motorcycles without wearing helmets, and the matter of drink-driving.  In particular, the majority of the offenders were youths and teenagers.

In reality, many local downgraded streets, including sections of the DT 601, the 14B Highway and some inter-communal routes, have yet to be upgraded, thereby obstructing traffic movement there.  Also, traffic signs have yet to be placed along some roads in local rural areas.

According to the Head of the Traffic Police Division of the municipal Police Department, Colonel Le Ngoc, his unit has worked closely with other relevant local agencies to give suggestions to the municipal governments about finding effective solutions to the already-detected traffic hot-spots in a bid to reduce accidents.

Local traffic police officers have also conducted numerous mobile patrols along major streets, in addition to effectively guiding traffic arrangements to ease congestion at the western and eastern approach roads to the Rong (Dragon), Han River and Tran Thi Ly bridges, and other busy intersections.

Colonel Le Ngoc highlighted the significance of raising public awareness of traffic safety amongst local citizens to build a more civilised traffic culture in the city.  Importance should be attached to increasing patrols and checks by the local traffic police on the city’s streets and imposing stricter penalties on anyone who violates the national traffic regulations.

Special heed should also be paid to installing more public surveillance cameras across the city in order to monitor and deal with both security and traffic violations.   The installation of the camera system is part of the city’s efforts to reduce the number of road traffic accidents, fatalities and injuries, and to crack down on social evils and criminals, especially those involved in drug-related crimes.