Is it punishable to drive a truck carrying people in the cargo bed?
Mr. H. was driving a truck and allowing people to sit or stand in the truck bed while traveling on the road. Is this act of driving a truck with people in the truck bed considered a violation of road traffic laws? This is a question of concern to Mr. Tran Van H. (Yen Xuan commune, Nghe An province).
Reply:According to Article 28 of the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, the following provisions apply to cases where truck drivers are permitted to transport passengers in the truck bed:
In the case of transporting passengers in a cargo vehicle.
1. Passengers may only be transported in the cargo bed of a truck in the following cases:
a) Transporting people for rescue and relief operations, disaster prevention and control, disease control, or other emergency tasks; transporting injured people for emergency medical treatment; evacuating people from dangerous areas or in other emergency situations as prescribed by law;
b) Transporting members of the People's Armed Forces to perform urgent duties;
c) Transporting people to driving practice in training vehicles; transporting people taking driving tests in test vehicles; transporting workers performing road maintenance and repair duties;
d) Transporting marching participants when authorized by the competent authority.
2. Motor vehicles used for transporting goods that also carry passengers in the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article must ensure safety when participating in road traffic.
Accordingly, provided safety is ensured, truck drivers may transport passengers in the cargo bed if they fall into one of the following categories:
- Transporting people for rescue and relief operations, disaster prevention and control, disease control, or other emergency tasks; transporting injured people for emergency medical treatment; evacuating people from dangerous areas or in other emergency situations as prescribed by law;
- Transporting members of the People's Armed Forces to perform urgent duties;
- Transporting people to driving practice in training vehicles; transporting people taking driving tests in test vehicles; transporting workers performing road maintenance and repair duties;
- Transporting marchers when authorized by the competent authority.
In addition to the cases mentioned, any other instances of driving a truck carrying passengers in the cargo bed are violations of the law. This excludes trucks modified to carry people for national defense and security purposes as stipulated in Clause 10, Article 9 of the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety.
