Saigon to close downtown street to commemorate traffic accident victims

The city Department of Transport announced that from Friday to 3 p.m. on Sunday vehicles would be banned on the short section of Le Duan Street between Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Pasteur streets.

The ceremony to commemorate people killed in road accidents will be held at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday as part of activities to observe the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents, which falls on November 17 each year.

Road users are advised to take alternative routes to avoid traffic congestion.

Since 2005 the United Nations has been remembering the many millions killed and injured on the world's roads together with their families and friends on the third Sunday of November every year.

Vietnam began to observe the day in 2012.

According to the National Traffic Safety Commission, traffic accidents continue to be a pressing global issue with 1.3 million deaths, 50 million injuries and a 2 percent loss of GDP (more than $1.5 trillion) every year.

Road crashes are a leading cause of death in Vietnam, killing almost one person every hour. More than 14,000 traffic accidents occurred in the first ten months of this year, killing nearly 6,318 people and injuring over 10,000, according to official statistics.