Traffic accidents in HCM City a huge problem on the rise

Traffic accidents remain a large problem in Ho Chi Minh City, causing rising numbers of injuries and fatalities.

Traffic accidents remain a large problem in Ho Chi Minh City, causing rising numbers of injuries and fatalities

According to Nguyen Thanh Tai, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, in the first six months of this year, the city witnessed 520 accidents, up 4% compared to the same period last year. The accidents caused 443 deaths and 283 injuries, up 6% and 46% respectively from last year.
Between January and June this year, five railway accidents occurred in Ho Chi minh City, which killed five people. During the period, the city saw 11 waterway accidents, with two deaths and five injuries, Tai added.
During the same period last year, the city saw only two railway accidents and six waterway accidents.
The official added that the city is in great need of more transportation infrastructure. Currently it accounts for 8% of the city's total area, while the real need is more like 14-16%, he said.
So far this year, the city licensed an additional 196,000 vehicles.
According to Dr. Pham Xuan Mai from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, including fuel prices, traffic accidents and losses to businesses because of traffic congestion, motorbikes alone are estimated to cost the city USD1.07 billion per year.
This figure is 11.2% of the city's entire GDP, which is higher than the municipal annual economic growth rate, he said.