Hundreds of vehicles encounter "nail thieves" when passing the "slope of death"

The curve on the “slope of death”, where vehicles often get “stuck” with nails while driving. Photo: Hung Cuong

In the past 2 weeks, many people have been upset and reported being "stuck" with nails while traveling on the road through Doc Chuoi section on National Highway 16 in Chau Kim commune, Que Phong district.

Many truck, passenger car, and pickup truck drivers reported getting "stuck" with up to 10 nails on this road section, with at least 4 nails for cars and at least 1 to 3 nails for motorbike drivers.

A truck ran over a nail that had to be inflated...Photo: Hung Cuong

...to cars and other vehicles. Photo: Hung Cuong

In particular, for teachers at local schools, the frustration is compounded when they are constantly late for class even though they try to leave very early because when their motorbike gets a flat tire, they have to walk to find a place to patch it.

It is more dangerous when many people are carrying heavy goods and their vehicle gets stuck in a nail or suddenly has a flat tire while going downhill or making a sharp turn, threatening their safety.

A car involved in an accident had its tire patched. Photo: Hung Cuong

Senior Lieutenant Kim Ban Giap, working at the Military Command of Que Phong district - a "victim" of "nail bandits" indignantly said: "That day I had an important meeting to attend the conference of Tri Le border commune with Phan Thoong village cluster of Muong Quan district, Hua Phan province, Laos. I wentThe motorbike was traveling from the District Military Headquarters over a 30km mountainous road. When reaching Doc Chuoi, while turning the corner, I suddenly felt the motorbike wobble and almost fell. I panicked, slowed down and tried to stop, but discovered that the tire was punctured by a nail. I had to leave the motorbike at Chau Thon Commune People's Committee and borrow another motorbike to continue on time.

Screws found by locals on the Doc Chuoi curve (Que Phong). Photo: Hung Cuong

Teacher Ho Duc Toan - a teacher at Tri Le Ethnic Minority Secondary School (Tri Le Commune, Que Phong) also shared the same sentiment: "I went from my hometown to school, and while driving, I saw a shiny car. I was startled and quickly stopped, only to discover that the car had 4 nails stuck in 2 tires on both sides. I had to call to delay and return to town to change 2 tires."

This teacher also seemed worried because he had to pass this section at least 4 times a week to return to his hometown in Do Luong.In the early days, when many vehicles were "stuck" with nails, people thought that it was a passing cargo truck that dropped them. But after discovering many nails at some other traffic hubs, people suspected that bad guys were spreading nails for profit.

Specifically, in addition to Doc Chuoi, the 35km stretch of road from National Highway 16, Chau Kim commune to Nam Giai commune, also had many vehicles "stuck" with nails.

A tire "stuck" with a nail. Photo: Hung Cuong

It is known that Doc Chuoi is a 6km long slope from the end of Chau Kim commune to the beginning of Chau Thon commune, with many sharp turns when going up or down the slope and is extremely dangerous.

Over the years, dozens of accidents have damaged vehicles and property, and dozens of people have died on this "slope of death" because vehicles lost their brakes or balance while going downhill.

Many people, when they saw us investigating the matter, came to express their indignation. Some people had had 3 accidents in 2 weeks passing through here, not only losing money to patch or change tires, but also wasting time and most dangerously, threatening the lives of other road users. People hope that the police will quickly investigate to end this situation.