Road accidents have hiked in Vietnam, with numbers indicating that more crashes occurred at the beginning of this year compared to last year.

State-run Tuoi Tre newspaper cited traffic police who said 34 crashes occurred on the road across the country on New Year’s Day, killing 33 people and injuring 22 others.

They said the figures represented a rise from the same day last year, when there were 27 road accidents which caused 23 fatalities and wounded nine people.

Traffic police also fined 2,454 people, amassing VND2.3 billion (up to $A139,000) worth of fines on the first day of this year.

Tuoi Tre newspaper reported thousands rushed to downtown Ho Chi Minh City on New Year’s Eve, congesting many streets.

Traffic police officers were sent to the area to ease the jams and prevent accidents.

– with other agencies