Why traffic accidents increase in 2023?

Why traffic accidents increase?

Referring to solutions to ensure traffic safety in the area, Mr. Pham Ngoc Vinh - Chief of Office of the Traffic Safety Committee of Nam Dinh province - said that in 2023, Nam Dinh has focused resources and forces on upgrading traffic infrastructure, patrolling, controlling, and handling traffic violations...

In particular, the handling of traffic safety violations in the first 11 months of the year increased by 43% compared to 2022; more than 100 railway crossings were removed... However, Nam Dinh is still one of the 7 localities with the highest number of deaths in the country.

"This year, we have done very careful data collection, from injuries that have been monitored for a long time. The statistics require more care than every year, so the data is strict and has increased in the statistics section compared to every year, so the data has also increased," said Mr. Vinh.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan - Chief of Office of Ha Tinh Traffic Safety Committee - also said that if in the first 9 months of the year, Ha Tinh was one of 9 provinces with the number of people killed by traffic accidents increasing by more than 40% compared to the same period last year, but in the 11 months, Ha Tinh only increased by more than 2% in the number of injured people, but the number of cases and deaths due to traffic accidents decreased.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, the increase in socio-economic situation after the pandemic is also one of the reasons for the increase in traffic accidents in the area.

"First, the provincial police also unified the reported data, because this was a request from the Ministry of Public Security, to review the reports, ensure accuracy and honesty, so when summing up after 11 months, the number of cases decreased, the number of deaths decreased, the number of injured people increased. But it was also because when the pandemic passed, the traffic situation increased dramatically, the flow of people and vehicles increased sharply," said Mr. Tan.

Also a locality with an increase in the number of traffic accidents and injuries, Mr. Vu Van Tung - Director of the Hai Duong Department of Transport - stated that because Hai Duong is located in the center of the economic triangle of Hanoi - Hai Phong - Hai Duong, the volume of vehicles participating in traffic has increased significantly. Up to this point, the national highways in Hai Duong are all overloaded, causing traffic accidents to always be a potential problem.

"High traffic density leads to high risks, and secondly, private vehicles have developed relatively quickly. New vehicle registrations in Hai Duong in the past two years, especially after COVID-19, have increased dramatically. Another reason is that after the expansion of the body and overloading of vehicles, the number of trips has also increased. That is also the reason why traffic accidents have increased," said Mr. Tung.

However, statistics from the National Traffic Safety Committee also show that many localities have still achieved the goal of reducing traffic accidents.

Mr. Nguyen Thien Vuong - Chief of Office of Quang Ninh Traffic Safety Committee - said that in the first 11 months of the year, Quang Ninh reduced the number of cases by 6.49% and the number of deaths due to traffic accidents by 6.67%.

"In Quang Ninh, the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee have directed the participation of all levels, sectors and localities, assigning responsibility to the leaders of that locality or unit. In particular, Quang Ninh is also sending notices of traffic violations, especially alcohol concentration violations to cadres, civil servants and party members, sending notices to agencies and units for coordinated handling and disciplinary measures," Mr. Vuong informed.

According to Colonel Nguyen Quang Nhat - Head of Propaganda Department, Traffic Police Department, Ministry of Public Security - although traffic accidents in the first 11 months of 2023 increased compared to the same period in 2022, the control and strict handling of alcohol concentration violations has become a bright spot in implementing solutions to ensure general traffic safety.

Specifically, in the first 11 months of the year, traffic accidents due to alcohol concentration decreased by 25% in number of cases, decreased by 50% in number of deaths and decreased by 22.6% in number of injuries.

According to traffic expert Khuong Kim Tao - former Deputy Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee - although traffic accidents are unusual and difficult to grasp, the increase in the number of cases and injuries caused by traffic accidents in the first 11 months of the year shows that the management of traffic safety and order is "fluctuating".

"If we solve the problem of alcohol concentration, the reduction of accidents due to alcohol concentration is visible, but it is clear that there are many other factors that have an influence. For example, the Thanh Buoi case shows that speeding violations are too large, and a number of other violations also affect the increase.

In addition, it is also partly due to statistics, because if statistics are like those of the World Bank or some statistical agencies, the number of deaths due to traffic accidents in Vietnam could be twice as high as our statistics," Mr. Tao said.

Regardless of the cause, the increase in the number of traffic accidents and the number of people injured due to traffic accidents is causing public concern.

However, worrying about the data is one thing, more importantly, the statistics, giving the numbers and dealing with those numbers, along with measures to achieve the goal of reducing traffic accidents in all 3 criteria, from the smallest things, at the family, school, to each locality, each ministry, have not shown that.

"The Little Things"

In a year where the number of traffic participants has not changed dramatically, enforcement measures have been stepped up, and directives have been continuously issued, but traffic accidents still increase, this is worrying information.

What causes traffic accidents to increase? The answer is waiting for the process of synthesizing and processing data for the whole year, which should be made public every month, and carefully done whenever traffic accidents have unusual developments.

Without the voice of numbers, the judgments will be just speculation. The policy consultations will also be very vague. But, there are also obvious causes, direct seeds of traffic accidents, without waiting for reports.

Road traffic accidents still account for almost an absolute proportion, over 99% of the total number of cases, deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents in the past 11 months. This shows that there has been almost no change in the transport structure between types. Pressure is still heavy on the roads, with the unstoppable increase of private vehicles, with businesses prioritizing the road, and infrastructure plans that are mainly focused on the roads.

As the road is opened, the cars will fill it. The bigger and more beautiful the road, the higher the speed, in the context of traffic skills remaining the same, the increase in accidents is inevitable. People may not fully understand this risk, but managers must definitely prepare for this.

Many serious and especially serious traffic accidents in the past year were recorded involving contract vehicles and commercial transport vehicles. The risks from lax management or poor management of this group have long been warned. However, due to waiting for law amendments, preventive measures still mainly rely on patrol and control campaigns, and often come after the incident. There is even evidence here and there that violations are ignored, on a conditional basis.

Meanwhile, for many traffic participants, the message of "respecting the law to build a safe traffic culture" has not yet become a need. They still consider traffic accidents as someone else's business, or have to wait to see how others respect the law before it's their turn.

Without a serious notion that safety is the condition of all conditions, without seeing the risk of fatal accidents from seemingly trivial violations, drivers will not have a constant instinct to value and preserve safety, and of course, will not make an effort to maintain that safety.

Nearly 900 traffic accidents involving children last year are a minus for society, a question mark for adults. It is true that roads are complicated and full of risks, but what have parents done to protect their children from these risks? Are we so busy that we do not have time to talk to them about these complexities and train them how to travel safely?

Do we have time to follow our children for a while to see how they actually use the electric car or motorbike?

Are we unintentionally sowing the seeds of accidents for our children, by driving them without helmets, without seat belts, or running red lights, or weaving and cutting in and out, so that they see that the law is just a game?

Are some teachers sowing contempt for the law and distrust in students by forcing them to sign a traffic safety pledge, while they themselves ride motorbikes bareheaded?

Community order and safety begin with each individual's small action, and are fueled by each thought.

Children wait for adults. People wait for authorities. Authorities wait for policies, or wait for public ethics. Managers wait for year-end reports…

Meanwhile, out there, every day 19 people die and 25 people are injured in traffic accidents.

If we continue to wait and ignore seemingly small things that are a measure of kindness and responsibility, there will continue to be more happiness waiting to be taken away by accidents.