Hundreds of vehicles encounter "nail thieves" when passing through the "hill of death"

The curve on the “slope of death”, where vehicles often get “stuck” with nails while traveling. 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 the least number of vehicles getting 4 nails and those driving motorbikes getting "stuck" with at least 1 to 3 nails.

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 despite trying to leave very early because when their motorbikes have flat tires, they have to walk to find a place to patch the inner tube.

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 down a steep slope, threatening their safety.

A car in an accident had to have 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, the motorbike suddenly swayed and almost fell. I was startled, slowed down and tried to stop, but discovered that the tire was punctured by a nail. I had to leave the motorbike at the 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 back to my hometown to go 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 through 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 vehicle that had 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 incident, came to express their indignation. Some people had 3 accidents in 2 weeks passing through here, not only losing money to patch or replace 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.