The National Committee on Traffic Safety has announced that Vietnam saw a 19% year-on-year decline in the number of traffic accidents in the first half of this year - the biggest fall in many years.

According to a report the committee released at its online meeting on July 1, there were a total of 6,790 traffic accidents recorded in the period around the country, killing 3,242 people and injuring 4,939.

The figures represented year-on-year declines of 19.02%, 14.9%, and 22.3%, respectively.

Drink-driving, however, remained at a high level, with 86,114 cases.

From January-June, transport police punished over 1.8 million violations, issuing fines totalling VND1.61 trillion (US$69.5 million). Nearly 151,000 driving licences were revoked and nearly 305,000 vehicles were temporarily seized.

In the remaining months of this year the country has set a target of 10 percent year-on-year declines in the number of accidents, deaths, and injuries.