A1 and B1 licenses can still be used after the new driver's license classification.

Many concerns

According to current regulations, there are 12 driving license categories, including: A1, A2, A3, A4, B1 (automatic B1 and B1), B2, C, D, E, FB2, FD, FE. In the Draft Law on Road Traffic (amended), which is being widely consulted by the Ministry of Transport, driving licenses will be divided into 17 categories (13 with a term and 4 with no term), including: A0, A1, A, B1, B2, B, C1, C, D1, D2, D, BE, C1E, CE, D1E, D2E and DE.

Notably, according to the Draft Law on Road Traffic (amended), Article 97 on driving licenses stipulates: Class A1 is only for driving vehicles from 50 to 125 cc or with an electric motor capacity from 4 kW to 11 kW and types of vehicles specified for class A0 driving licenses, instead of vehicles from 50 to 175 cc as at present. In addition, class B1 driving licenses will be used for drivers of 3-wheeled motorbikes instead of driving automatic cars with 9 seats or less, automatic trucks under 3.5 tons as at present.

According to the Draft Law on Road Traffic (amended), B1 class driving licenses will be used for drivers of 3-wheeled motorbikes instead of automatic cars with 9 seats or less. Photo: D.C.

The above regulation makes many people worried because there are currently millions of people using A1 and B1 driving licenses, and many of them are using motorbikes over 125cm3 and driving automatic cars with less than 9 seats. For A1 driving licenses, according to current regulations, people with A1 driving licenses are allowed to drive vehicles with a cylinder capacity from over 50cm3 to under 175cm3. With the draft revised Law on Road Traffic, only people with A1 driving licenses are allowed to drive vehicles with a cylinder capacity of up to 125cm3 and electric motors with a capacity of 4 to 11kW.

This regulation makes many people wonder when vehicles with cylinder capacity from 125cm3 - 175cm3 are quite popular in Vietnam. Some of the vehicles that can be named are Honda SH 150cm3, Airblade 150cm3, Honda Winner 135cm3, Yamaha Exciter 135&150cm3, Yamaha Nouvo 135cm3 or NVX 155cm3... If the draft regulation is applied, those who own these vehicles will be forced to change their driving license class.

Mr. Dang Tho Truong, residing in Nghi Kim, Vinh City, said: he has had a Class A1 driver's license for ten years now and is using a 150cm3 motorbike as his main means of transportation. "If the draft revised Road Traffic Law is officially issued, including regulations on A1 driver's licenses, I will not be able to drive my motorbike, which also means I have to get another driver's license to use my vehicle. That is inconvenient and troublesome," Mr. Truong expressed his opinion.

Nghe An Traffic Police check documents related to vehicle drivers. Photo: D.C.

Not only 2-wheeled vehicles, the Draft Law on Road Traffic Amendment also provides regulations for cars. One of these proposals is to stipulate that the B1 class driver's license will be used for drivers of 3-wheeled motorbikes instead of driving automatic cars with 9 seats or less, automatic trucks under 3.5 tons as at present. Regarding this issue, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, in Nghi Long, Nghi Loc said: I just lost money and time to get a B1 class driver's license less than 3 months ago. But if according to this draft Law on Road Traffic Amendment, will my driver's license no longer be valid, not qualified to drive a car anymore???

At the otofun Nghe An forum, a large forum specializing in cars, after citing the content posted in newspapers related to driver's license classification, many people also expressed concern. Facebook Huong Nguyen asked "Can a B1 license now drive a morning car?", Facebook Tan Nguyen "Having a B2 license for 20 years, now suddenly downgraded to driving a 3-wheel vehicle," Facebook Le Tien Hung "Changing the license again to collect fees"...

How to understand correctly?

Responding to the press in recent days, the representative of the General Department of Roads, Mr. Luong Duyen Thong - Director of the Department of Vehicle and Driver Management, said: Currently, the driving license classes in Vietnam do not correspond to the license classes of many countries as well as the regulations of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic that Vietnam has joined.

Therefore, the change and addition of driving license categories is to comply with international standards, creating conditions for Vietnamese citizens to use Vietnamese driving licenses when traveling abroad and foreigners to use their country's driving licenses in Vietnam. This is in line with the current trend of international integration and globalization. The adjustment of driving license classification does not affect or create procedures or costs for people.

From now on, electric motorbike drivers must also have a driver's license. Photo: D.C.

Regarding people's concerns, Mr. Thong said that such concerns are unfounded because the principle of the law is non-retroactive. Therefore, when the new law comes into effect, those who have been granted A1 and B1 driver's licenses will continue to use their existing licenses to drive the types of vehicles as prescribed by the license.

Specifically, with an A1 license issued without a specified term, there is no need to change to an A license to drive a vehicle over 125cc. Only new A1 and A licenses will be issued to those taking the motorcycle driving test for the first time. With current B1 automatic, B1, and B2 manual licenses, when they expire, they will be changed to a new license class. For example, the current B1 automatic license will be changed to a new B2 license; B1 and B2 manual licenses will be changed to a B license. When changing an expired license, a fee will be charged according to current regulations. For those who are newly issued, the change of driver's license will be applied according to the new license class.

Thus, it can be understood that this is only the first step of the draft. However, after being announced, along with the people's access, some newspapers did not understand the draft's plan on increasing the driver's license class and hastily published incomplete and inaccurate information, causing public confusion and panic.

Therefore, before posting the full text of a draft law, decree or circular with many confusing and difficult-to-understand provisions on electronic information pages, the drafting agency needs to proactively announce the information immediately through a press conference to introduce and explain in detail the necessity of promulgation and the important contents of the new regulations in the draft. Along with that, it is necessary to provide information such as the basis on which the regulation was proposed, research and surveys on the influence and impact of the regulation on those directly involved...

After learning more, we learned that currently, relevant provincial authorities such as the Department of Transport, the Department of Justice... have not yet received the draft from the higher level for comments, and information about the draft Law on Road Traffic (amended) is only received through media channels and social networks. At the same time, it is believed that since it is just a draft, the process of collecting opinions, being approved by the National Assembly, and then implementing it is still a process, accordingly, there will be many changes.

Dr. Lawyer Nguyen Trong Hai - Head of Trong Hai & Associates Law Office.

The classification of driving licenses into 17 categories according to the draft Law on Road Traffic (amended) may make the procedures for granting and exchanging driving licenses more costly and time-consuming, contrary to the current simplification of administrative procedures for people. Therefore, changing the Law to conform to international standards is a worthy thing to support, but it is also necessary to consider the current reality in Vietnam, ensuring convenience for people.

Dr. Lawyer Nguyen Trong Hai - Head of Trong Hai & Associates Law Office

Thus, people do not need to worry about A1 driver's license not being allowed to drive vehicles over 125cm3, B1 driver's license not being allowed to drive cars... When the new law comes into effect, those who have been granted A1 and B1 driver's licenses will continue to use their existing licenses to drive the types of vehicles as specified in the license.

However, with concerns, even worries about the shortcomings and troubles that may be encountered if implemented in the revised Road Traffic Law. It is thought that the drafting committee and editorial team of the revised Road Traffic Law need to continue to synthesize and study people's opinions to absorb and adjust the contents of the draft law to suit reality and facilitate application.

It is expected that the Law on Road Traffic (amended) will be submitted to the National Assembly at the 10th Session (October 2020) and approved at the 11th Session (late March 2021).