Truck driver's lawsuit against Vinh City Police dismissed

(Baonghean.vn) - The Trial Council determined that the decision of Vinh City Police to fine driver Phan Dinh Anh was well-founded and dismissed the driver's petition to cancel the administrative penalty decision.

After 4 days of deliberation, on the morning of May 29, Vinh City People's Court issued a verdict on the administrative lawsuit between the plaintiff, truck driver Phan Dinh Anh, and the defendant, Vinh City Police.

The panel of judges determined that the meaning of sign 106b placed on Le Loi Street specifically prohibits trucks with a total designed weight of 4 tons or more from participating in traffic from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily.

Representing the plaintiff and defendant in court. Photo: Binh Lan

These contents are stipulated in Decision No. 10 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province and have been widely announced on the Nghe An Electronic Information Portal. Vinh City Police are obliged to enforce this decision. Truck drivers when driving on Vinh City roads are obliged to know and comply with the above regulations.

Determining which roads are prohibited in Vinh city is the authority of the People's Committee of Nghe An province. Traffic police working on this road have the obligation to detect and punish violations according to regulations. Comparing this case, the People's Court determined that the decision of Vinh city police to punish driver Phan Dinh Anh was well-founded.

Based on the above assessment, the People’s Court of Vinh City rejected the lawsuit filed by Mr. Phan Dinh Anh requesting to cancel the decision on administrative penalty of Vinh City Police; and rejected the request for compensation for damages by Ms. Truong Thi Minh – representative of Vo Minh Enterprise. Driver Phan Dinh Anh and Ms. Truong Thi Minh must pay the civil first instance court fees as prescribed.

The jury announced the verdict. Photo: Binh Lan

As reported by Nghe An Newspaper, on the morning of March 8, 2016, Mr. Phan Dinh Anh (born in 1983, residing in Phuc Son commune, Anh Son), driver of Vo Minh transport company, drove a truck from Mai Hac De street to Le Loi street, Vinh city.

On this road section, there is a sign prohibiting trucks (sign 106b) with a total weight of 4 tons or more from 6am to 10pm every day. The working group of the Vinh City Traffic Police Department signaled the vehicle to stop for inspection and reported the violation of entering the prohibited road, but the driver, Anh, did not cooperate and did not present the vehicle's documents.

Traffic police were forced to take the car back to the headquarters and make a record of the incident in the presence of the people. On March 17, 2016, Vinh City Police decided to administratively fine driver Phan Dinh Anh for the following violations: entering a prohibited road, not complying with the request for inspection and control by the officer on duty, not carrying a certificate of technical safety and environmental protection inspection, not carrying a driver's license; not carrying the vehicle registration... The total fine was 4.9 million VND, and the vehicle was detained for 9 days.

Disagreeing, driver Phan Dinh Anh filed a lawsuit against the Vinh City Police Department's administrative decision in court, requesting the cancellation of the administrative penalty decision because it was issued "in violation of regulations"; and requesting the police to refund the fine.

Driver Phan Dinh Anh authorized Ms. Truong Thi Minh (born in 1957, residing in Nghi Hoa ward, Cua Lo town) - owner of Vo Minh enterprise to attend the trial. Ms. Minh also requested Vinh City Police to compensate more than 45.5 million VND for the enterprise's damage due to the 9-day detention of the vehicle.

At the trial, the plaintiff argued that at the time of inspection, the vehicle was not carrying any goods, so the actual weight of the vehicle at that time was 3.4 tons (vehicle weight according to the inspection certificate). Meanwhile, sign 106b prohibits trucks with a total weight of 4 tons or more, meaning the vehicle did not violate this traffic sign. Driver Anh did not accept the penalties imposed by Vinh City Police, so he did not hand over the vehicle documents to the traffic police.

Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Duy Ha - Deputy Chief of Vinh City Police, authorized by the Chief of Vinh City Police to attend the trial, affirmed: The decision of the competent authority to impose administrative penalties on driver Phan Dinh Anh for the above violations is within its authority and in accordance with the provisions of the law. The penalties apply the provisions of Decree 167/ND-CP dated November 12, 2013 of the Government; Decision No. 43/2014/QD-UBND dated July 28, 2014 and Decision No. 10/2016/QD-UBND of Nghe An province issued on January 18, 2016.

Controversial sign. Photo: Binh Lan

The weight of the truck that the British driver was driving was 3.4 tons and the allowed weight of the cargo was 4 tons, so the total weight exceeded the regulations. The British driver drove the truck onto the road with the sign 106b, not knowing whether the truck was carrying goods or not, just based on the weight of the truck plus the allowed weight of the cargo on the truck, if it exceeded, he would be fined.

Lawyer Vu Van Dong (who protects the legal rights and interests of Vo Minh Enterprise) said that the 106b sign clearly indicates the weight of the vehicle and the weight of the goods on the vehicle. "The weight of the vehicle at that time was just over 3.4 tons because it was not carrying any goods. Therefore, the vehicle was allowed to enter this road," lawyer Dong argued.

After the trial, Ms. Truong Thi Minh said she disagreed with the panel's verdict and would appeal to a higher court.

Binh Lan