Chinese police will tighten inspections to ensure road safety during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The ministry's traffic management bureau said it will strengthen checkups targeting unsafe vehicles and unqualified drivers.

Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, will fall on January 28, 2017, the earliest in the last five years. The travel rush, also known as "Chunyun," will begin on Jan. 13 and last until February 21. Nearly 3 billion trips are expected to be made during the period.

Spring Festival is the country's most important family holiday, with hundreds of millions of people heading to their hometowns to meet up with relatives and old friends, which puts huge stress on the transport system.

Authorities will focus on overloading, fatigue, drunk driving and drivers operating vehicles for which they are not licensed during the rush period checkups.

The bureau also warned related agencies to guard against harsh weather, including sleet, snow and smog.

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2016)