VietNamNet Bridge - A requiem for the souls of traffic accident victims was held at the Bai Dinh pagoda in the northern province of Ninh Binh on November 16.

The requiem is part of activities in response to World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents, which falls on the third Sunday of November.

At the ceremony, tens of thousands of Buddhist monks, nuns, followers and relatives of victims gathered to pray for the peace of the victims’ souls.

Addressing the event, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang called for all people to abide by traffic regulations, drive safely and share the grief suffered by victims’ families.

In the January-October period of 2013, Vietnam had nearly 8,000 people who died, and tens of thousands became disabled because of traffic accidents. Each day sees an average of nearly 30 people that die and hundreds of others injured on Vietnam’s roads, needlessly taking away lives and burdening the State budget, he said.

In Vietnam, traffic deaths in the first seventh months of 2013 rose by 4.86 percent year-on-year, according to statistics released by the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

This is the 2nd time Vietnam held a requiem for the victims of fatal traffic accidents.

Minh Quang