What are the legal consequences for grazing livestock on roads?
What are the legal consequences for grazing livestock on public roads? Under what circumstances can those grazing livestock face administrative penalties or criminal prosecution? This is a question from Mr. NQG in Nghi Loc commune.
Reply:
According to Article 32 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, it is clearly stipulated that: those who control or lead pets or drive vehicles pulled by pets must keep the pets close to the right edge of the road; pets may only cross the road after careful observation and ensuring safety; they must absolutely not obstruct traffic, must not lead pets into the motor vehicle lane, and must not let them roam freely on the road.
In cases where livestock herders violate traffic safety regulations, they will be subject to administrative penalties as stipulated in Article 11 of Decree 168/2024/ND-CP. Specifically, actions such as failing to yield, failing to obey traffic signals, failing to clean up livestock waste, allowing livestock to enter motor vehicle lanes, or allowing livestock to pull vehicles without a driver may be fined from VND 150,000 to VND 600,000. Particularly, leading livestock or vehicles towed by livestock onto highways can result in fines of up to VND 2,000,000.
Beyond administrative penalties, allowing livestock to roam freely on roads and cause accidents can also lead to civil liability under Article 603 of the 2015 Civil Code. According to this article, the owner or user of the animal is obligated to compensate for all damages caused by the animal to others, unless otherwise agreed. If the other party is at fault for causing the damage, they must jointly compensate; if the animal is used illegally, the illegal user is also responsible for compensation, and the owner of the animal may be jointly liable if at fault in its management.
Specifically, if allowing or leading pets to roam freely causes a traffic accident resulting in death, the pet owner may be held criminally liable under Article 128 of the 2015 Penal Code for the crime of unintentional manslaughter. The penalty for this crime can range from non-custodial rehabilitation for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 1 to 5 years; if two or more people die, the sentence can be up to 10 years of imprisonment.
