It’s a national disaster
January 15, 2011 about News
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Victim of a motorbike accident sits on a sidewalk in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District. |
Sometimes, disasters are not so in-your-face, like a tsunami or an earthquake.
They could happen in bits and pieces, in trickles instead of a deluge, and we are not likely to see them as a full-scale disaster.
Last month, a national conference on traffic safety in Hanoi reported that 11,449 people were killed in 14,442 traffic accidents in the country last year. 10,663 others were injured.
Compared to the previous year, the number of cases increased by 1,788.
While the death toll went down by 47, the number of injuries went up by 2,500.
The figures get scarier if we look at them closely, and make a few calculations and comparisons.
The latest death toll means 31 people die every day, 217 a week - the casualty rate of a plane crash. At the current rate of traffic fatalities, the equivalent of the entire population of a mountainous district of 30,000 people would be wiped out in less than three years.
The consequences of these accidents don’t stop at the loss of life and the injuries sustained.
A report by the World Health Organization says that road accidents cost between 1-2 percent of GDP in developing countries. That kind of money, which can be used to help thousands of poor people, is spent on treating victims of traffic accidents.
The government set up a National Traffic Safety Committee, and several agencies to enforce traffic laws. Traffic safety news is aired every day on national television, and thousands of community activities are held to promote traffic safety.
But traffic accidents have not decreased. Why?
More than a month ago, I caught a bus from the central province of Quang Tri to Nghe An Province. Like most other buses running from the north to the south, this one was also old, and very crowded.
When it rained, the whole windshield became opaque, as wipers broke down. But, the driver was still speeding and almost crashed into vehicles running in the opposite direction many times.
It’s unbelievable that the lives of people on the bus were at risk because of broken windshield wipers and an irresponsible driver.
If traffic officials agree to take a trip from north to south by motorbike or an old bus like millions of ordinary people, instead of by plane or car, they will understand better the risks involved, and come up with more effective policies.
We are lucky to live in a peaceful country. But how peaceful is it when we face the threat of traffic accidents whenever we go out.
We have talked so much about the causes of traffic accidents – increasing urban population density, increasing number of vehicles, poor awareness of traffic regulations, infrastructural deficiencies and so on.
But, as long as we aren’t fully aware of the reasons behind and consequences of traffic accidents, we are doomed to revisit these figures every year. We have to recognize the scale of this problem: it is truly a national disaster.
They could happen in bits and pieces, in trickles instead of a deluge, and we are not likely to see them as a full-scale disaster.
Last month, a national conference on traffic safety in Hanoi reported that 11,449 people were killed in 14,442 traffic accidents in the country last year. 10,663 others were injured.
Compared to the previous year, the number of cases increased by 1,788.
While the death toll went down by 47, the number of injuries went up by 2,500.
The figures get scarier if we look at them closely, and make a few calculations and comparisons.
The latest death toll means 31 people die every day, 217 a week - the casualty rate of a plane crash. At the current rate of traffic fatalities, the equivalent of the entire population of a mountainous district of 30,000 people would be wiped out in less than three years.
The consequences of these accidents don’t stop at the loss of life and the injuries sustained.
A report by the World Health Organization says that road accidents cost between 1-2 percent of GDP in developing countries. That kind of money, which can be used to help thousands of poor people, is spent on treating victims of traffic accidents.
The government set up a National Traffic Safety Committee, and several agencies to enforce traffic laws. Traffic safety news is aired every day on national television, and thousands of community activities are held to promote traffic safety.
But traffic accidents have not decreased. Why?
More than a month ago, I caught a bus from the central province of Quang Tri to Nghe An Province. Like most other buses running from the north to the south, this one was also old, and very crowded.
When it rained, the whole windshield became opaque, as wipers broke down. But, the driver was still speeding and almost crashed into vehicles running in the opposite direction many times.
It’s unbelievable that the lives of people on the bus were at risk because of broken windshield wipers and an irresponsible driver.
If traffic officials agree to take a trip from north to south by motorbike or an old bus like millions of ordinary people, instead of by plane or car, they will understand better the risks involved, and come up with more effective policies.
We are lucky to live in a peaceful country. But how peaceful is it when we face the threat of traffic accidents whenever we go out.
We have talked so much about the causes of traffic accidents – increasing urban population density, increasing number of vehicles, poor awareness of traffic regulations, infrastructural deficiencies and so on.
But, as long as we aren’t fully aware of the reasons behind and consequences of traffic accidents, we are doomed to revisit these figures every year. We have to recognize the scale of this problem: it is truly a national disaster.
By Le Duc Duc (Tuoi Tre)
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