The scene of the disastrous traffic accident in the southern province of Long An (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Transport has ordered the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam to tighten the granting of licenses for drivers of both cars and trucks, after a disastrous traffic accident in the southern province of Long An, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The has stated.
Changes will be made in driving lessons, instructors, and practical behind-the-wheel tests (or road tests), especially exam simulation, according to Minister Nguyen Van The.
Speaking at a conference to put forward 2019’s tasks at the headquarters of the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam, Minister Nguyen Van The said during a car driving test simulation, all those who take driving license examinations must know several mistakes and signs such as accident blackspots and railroad crossings.
“Container truck is a specialized vehicle so even when being granted the license to drive the car, the driver cannot drive it for his whole life without reassessment of his health condition and driving performance,” he said.
According to the transport minister, the ministry assigned the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam to better organise exams so all drivers have sufficient knowledge on the Law on Road Traffic.
It is necessary to weed out those who do not have a thorough understanding of theory and practice, The stated, stressing the importance of stricter management of container truck drivers.
“Drivers of heavy and super-heavy truck must be well trained so they can ensure safety for other road users,” the head of the transport sector said.
The Ministry of Transport will check roads with high traffic density. If the road is wide enough, it will include separate lanes for cars and trucks and two-wheel vehicles, he added.
He noted that the driver in the Long An traffic tested positive for both alcohol and drugs. Therefore, the ministry will begin randomly stopping vehicles to check whether the drivers have used alcohol and drugs or not or driven for four consecutive hours through GPS-based vehicle trackers.
The minister also stressed the importance of tighter management over owners of vehicles.
On emergency escape ramps on roads, Minister The said Vietnam is piloting the use of emergency escape zones and multi-layer guardrails on passes so drivers can park when their vehicles have problems.
However, the work takes time and cannot be done in one year, he noted.
Acknowledging that traffic accidents are unexpected and can happen at any time and anywhere, Major General Le Xuan Duc, deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security’s Transport Police Department, said the Law on Road Traffic stipulates people should keep an appropriate distance between vehicles when stopping at red lights.
Regarding the construction of bypasses in urban and crowded areas, Duc said the demand for economic development must be taken into account as the presence of trucks in urban and crowded areas reflects the development of production.
He suggested carrying out a more scientific method of traffic organisation by allowing trucks to enter these areas at a certain time.-VNA
| At 15:00 on January 2, a container truck hit 21 motorbikes waiting at a red light at the Nhut Chanh junction in Ben Luc district in the southern province of Long An, killing three people on the spot and injuring 17 others. One more person died at hospital. The truck driver later tested positive for drugs and alcohol. On January 3, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Minh Sang, spokesman of Long An province’s Police said the investigation police agency decided to start legal proceedings in the case on violations of road traffic regulations, and temporarily detain Pham Thanh Hieu (32 years old, residing in Thanh Duc commune, Ben Luc district) – the container truck’s driver. |
