Nine top provincial officials criticized VietNamNet Bridge - Due to accidents increased by 40-91 percent, the chairs of the nine provinces of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Phu Tho, Ninh Thuan, Thua Thien - Hue, Binh Thuan, Lang Son, Son La, Lao Cai and Khanh Hoa were criticized by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.   The Government on May 29 convened a national video-teleconference on traffic safety in the second quarter of 2013 and devise future tasks to deal with the issue. Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, called for serious assessment of how transport safety regulations have been observed. According to Phuc, in the past five months, traffic accidents dropped sharply but the number of deaths surged, sparking public concerns. He asked for more drastic measures to realize the National Assembly’s preset targets on traffic safety. The National Traffic Safety Committee reported that during January-May 12,052 traffic accidents occurred nationwide, down 14.77 percent against the same period last year, resulting in 4,163 deaths (up 0.6 percent) and 12,171 injuries (down 20.02 percent). As of May 4, 53,836 poor-quality helmets in 1,676 shops were seized. At the conference, Deputy PM Phuc praised eight provinces for well curbing traffic accidents and criticized nine others for the rise of traffic accidents of over 30 percent, including: Ba Ria - Vung Tau (40.2%), Phu Tho (40.7%), Ninh Thuan (41.9%), Thua Thien - Hue (41.9%), Binh Thuan (47 , 4%), Lang Son (48.6%), Son La (55.9%), Khanh Hoa (77.8%) and Lao Cai (91.3%). Lieutenant General Pham Quy Ngo, Vice Minister of Public Security, Deputy Chair of the National Traffic Safety Committee said that 80 percent of the traffic violations were caused by the poor awareness of drivers. He proposed to revoke driving licences forever for those who cause serious consequences. Le Ha