Chaos among unlicensed vehicles bearing Lao license plates in Dien Chau.

(Baonghean)For a long time, passenger buses with Lao license plates in Dien Chau have not needed to register at designated bus stations, freely stopping to pick up passengers on inter-communal and inter-village roads, causing chaotic traffic and posing a constant risk of accidents for road users. Besides overcrowding passengers and goods, some of these unlicensed buses with Lao license plates have recently been discovered by authorities transporting wild animals… However, the management of passenger buses operating on routes to Laos has remained lax in recent years.

In the days following Tet (Lunar New Year), we visited Dien Thap commune (Dien Chau district) and saw rows upon rows of passenger buses with Lao license plates parked haphazardly along Route 205, connecting Provincial Road 538 Dien Xuan to Do Thanh commune. According to a local resident, on odd-numbered days of the lunar calendar, these buses from Laos fill the road to load goods and passengers, then cross into Laos the following morning, on even-numbered days. Goods of all kinds, such as steel, mats, blankets, pillows, mattresses, aluminum, and plastic, are crammed into the back of the buses, in the aisles, under the seats, and piled high on the roofs – a truly frightening sight. Mr. K, a resident of Dien Thap who does business in Laos, said: "After loading the goods in the afternoon, around 2-3 am, the passengers leave to depart for Laos. Traveling to Laos after Tet is like torture; sometimes you have to sit on top of the cargo, and sometimes, when it's too crowded, there's no place to sit, so you have to stand all the way from here to Laos." Ms. N from Dien Xuan commune expressed her frustration: "The scariest thing about traveling on this road is when trucks lift their cargo beds to stuff in goods, taking up all the seating space. The risk of traffic accidents can happen at any time."

The passenger bus has a Lao license plate.

Based on our observations, we noticed many vehicles with Lao license plates carrying passengers in Dien Hong, Dien Thap, etc., were overloaded with passengers and goods, yet still "freely" passed through traffic checkpoints. Recently, on February 17th, Patrol Team 6-1 of the Ha Tinh Traffic Police Department inspected a passenger bus with Lao license plate UN 3897 driven by Vo Van Nam (born in 1982), residing in Dien Truong commune, Dien Chau district, and discovered that the vehicle was traveling on the wrong route and was overloaded with passengers. The driver confessed: “Previously, the bus only operated the Vientiane (Laos) - Nghe An route, but due to the high demand for travel to the South during Tet (Lunar New Year), we intentionally deviated from the route. In particular, authorities have repeatedly discovered passenger buses with Lao license plates driven by drivers from Dien Chau transporting rare animals. For example, in 2010, two consecutive cases were discovered involving passenger buses with Lao license plates in Dien Chau transporting wild animals. On May 26, 2010, a passenger bus with license plate UN-688, owned by Nguyen Van Tuan from Dien Hong, was found carrying 7 turtles and 30 black bear paws. Prior to that, on April 11, 2010, the same bus was found by authorities to be carrying 2 bear cubs, 50 kg of frozen bear paws, and 140 turtles… Most recently, on January 18, 2013, authorities discovered a passenger bus with license plate UN-6688 driven by Nguyen Van Hao from Dien Lien, owned by Nguyen Van Tuan from Dien Lien. Vo Van Thinh from Dien Thap was found in a vehicle carrying two clouded leopards that were shot dead. These clouded leopards belong to group 1B – an endangered species requiring protection.

It is known that the entire Dien Chau district has 34 passenger buses with Lao license plates, including 2 sleeper buses with license plates UN 4922 in Dien Thap and UN 6917 in Dien Ky. These vehicles are mainly concentrated in the communes of Dien Thap, Dien Xuan, Dien Hong, and Dien Ky before traveling to Laos. It is understood that these passenger buses with Lao license plates are mostly leased by Vietnamese people living in Laos from Lao owners at low prices for transportation business. Besides operating illegally, these vehicles also engage in unfair competition, negatively impacting businesses operating fixed-route transportation services.

The problem of unlicensed passenger buses with Lao license plates operating haphazardly in Dien Chau leads to chaotic and uncontrollable traffic conditions. Authorities need stricter management solutions and should concentrate these vehicles in designated terminals for easier management.

Text and photos: Minh Bach