Regulations to end disputes between Vietnamese drivers and traffic police

Overtaking on the right, whether or not a turn signal is required when going through a roundabout, and how residential area signs are effective were clarified in 2017.

1. Overtake right

Overtaking on the right is a mistake that drivers were often fined for on the highway in the past, when they always turned to the right to overtake. Standard 41 has clarified this with clear regulations.

Accordingly, overtaking on the right is a traffic situation in which a vehicle overtakes another vehicle on the right side of the overtaken vehicle on the same direction of the road where there is only one lane in each direction. If a vehicle intentionally overtakes like this, it is illegal.

Conversely, on a road with two or more lanes in one direction, a driver can overtake another vehicle by signaling to move to the right lane to overtake. This is essentially going faster than the vehicle in the left lane. The driver must ensure that the overtaking does not exceed the maximum speed limit, otherwise it is a speeding violation.

2. Go straight through the roundabout without signaling.

According to the official website of the Traffic Police Department, there are 4 cases where it is mandatory to turn on the turn signal: (1) changing lanes; (2) turning left, right, or making a U-turn; (3) overtaking another vehicle, and (4) moving the vehicle from a parking position or driving close to the sidewalk to stop or park.

Not required, but vehicles should signal left and right when going through a roundabout.

In other cases, you should turn on your signal, such as when going through a roundabout, according to the rule "enter left, exit right", that is, when entering, turn on the left signal, when exiting the roundabout, turn on the right signal. Thus, when going through a roundabout, you should turn on your signal, but it is not required.

3. Residential signs do not need to be repeated.

Standard 41 states that signs for densely populated areas must be repeated at intersections when passing very long stretches of road; if there is no repeated sign, it is automatically invalid. With this regulation, many drivers believe that if they pass an intersection and do not see the sign anymore, it means the sign is gone, and they can drive freely as if they were on a non-residential road.

If there is no warning sign at the next intersection, this road is still in a residential area.

However, at the end of July, the Ministry of Transport issued an official dispatch explaining that the validity of the sign "Densely populated area" is stipulated in Circular 91/2015 as follows: "Sign number R.420 is valid for densely populated areas for all routes located in urban areas up to the location of sign number R.421". Sign R.421 is the sign "End of densely populated area".

This means that if a driver encounters a sign saying "Densely populated area", continues to go through several intersections without seeing a reminder sign, he is still in a densely populated area. Only when the sign "End of densely populated area" appears will it no longer be valid. The Ministry of Transport affirms that it is not mandatory to post a reminder sign when passing through an intersection.

4. Dedicated lane signs can combine multiple types of vehicles

Sign R.412 is originally regulated in Standard 41 as one sign for each type of vehicle, but in reality, there are many road sections where vehicles are drawn together in one sign. Many drivers believe that this is not up to standard and therefore not valid.

Lane separation signs can group multiple types of vehicles.

However, the Ministry of Transport believes that there are currently many routes where one lane can accommodate 2-3 types of vehicles, so combining the images of all vehicles into one sign is correct, making it easier to observe, arrange and save costs. The size of the sign should be expanded to be balanced.

Thus, if a driver violates the traffic rules by driving in the wrong lane, on a road with sign R.412 with many types of vehicles combined, he will still be handled as usual.

According to VNE