Traffic accidents drop sharply on first day of Vietnam’s Reunification Day holiday

The department said 37 road accidents occurred, leaving 18 people dead and 22 injured. No accidents were recorded on railways or waterways.

Compared with the same period last year, the number of accidents fell by 47 percent, fatalities by 50 percent, and injuries by nearly 59 percent.

Traffic police nationwide handled more than 13,100 violations, seizing 70 cars, over 2,460 motorcycles, and 230 other vehicles.

Officers revoked 321 driver’s licenses and deducted points from 1,902 cases.

Among the violations, more than 2,100 cases involved drunk driving, around 3,250 were related to speeding, 93 involved overcrowding, and 117 cases involved drivers using mobile phones or electronic devices while operating vehicles.

Highway patrol units detected 433 violations, while waterway police recorded 217 cases and railway police handled 85.

In Hanoi, Colonel Tran Dinh Nghia, head of the Vietnamese capital’s traffic police unit, said travel demand surged during the holiday, with traffic at gateways increasing sharply.

Hanoi traffic police implemented multiple measures including traffic flow management, strict enforcement against drunk driving, speeding, and overloading, and coordination with national highway patrols to ease congestion.

Authorities also deployed AI-powered camera systems to monitor traffic in real time, quickly identifying congestion or accidents and alerting nearby patrols.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khuong said teams were on duty around the clock to respond promptly to incidents.

On Wednesday alone, Hanoi police imposed fines of over VND3 billion (US$113,800) on violators, revoked 135 licenses, and impounded 261 vehicles. They inspected 528 passenger transport vehicles, penalizing 138 for violations, and worked with local police to handle 320 cases of illegal parking.

Officials said combining on-the-ground patrols with camera surveillance has improved compliance and reduced risks during the busy holiday period.