Quy Hop: "chaos" of agricultural vehicles
To ensure road traffic safety, on April 29, 2009, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 548/QD-TTg on the cancellation and replacement of homemade farm vehicles and 3- and 4-wheeled motor vehicles. In Nghe An, this Decision has been implemented by prohibiting farm vehicles and homemade vehicles from participating in traffic as well as providing financial support for vehicle owners to replace and cancel their vehicles... However, in Quy Hop, these regulations have not been seriously implemented.
(Baonghean) -To ensure road traffic safety, on April 29, 2009, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 548/QD-TTg on the cancellation and replacement of homemade farm vehicles and 3- and 4-wheeled motor vehicles. In Nghe An, this Decision has been implemented by prohibiting farm vehicles and homemade vehicles from participating in traffic as well as providing financial support for vehicle owners to replace and cancel their vehicles... However, in Quy Hop, these regulations have not been seriously implemented.
On National Highway 48, from Sang Le intersection (Quy Hop district) to Chau Binh commune (Quy Chau district), every day there are still hundreds of tractors carrying wood, acacia and construction materials. As a type of vehicle that has been banned from circulation, these tractors have no lights, no license plates, and of course the drivers do not need a driver's license or knowledge of the Road Traffic Law. The tractors still run arrogantly, regardless of current laws, causing serious traffic insecurity and public outrage.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh in Tam Hop commune is still in shock when recounting his recent near-accident: On the morning of May 26, 2013, due to urgent matters, Mr. Thanh had to leave home at dusk; the weather was cool so he was a bit distracted and did not notice a tractor driving in the same direction ahead... Mr. Thanh was upset: "Luckily I was able to brake in time, otherwise... It was dark, the vehicle had no lights, no reflectors, the tractor driver was holding only a flashlight to check the road, so he would have definitely caused an accident. We, the people here, were truly terrified many times when we saw tractors rushing along the inter-village and inter-commune roads."
Farm vehicles running on National Highway 48 through Quy Hop district.
(Photo taken at 12:00 on May 29)
Farm vehicles causing traffic accidents in Quy Hop district is no longer a strange thing, and most recently, at the end of May, two geological officers on their way to Quy Chau for work had to be hospitalized after being hit by a farm vehicle...
According to data provided by the Department of Industry and Trade of Quy Hop district, implementing the Decision of the Prime Minister and the official dispatches of the Provincial People's Committee, in the past time, Quy Hop district has implemented 5 rounds of financial support to replace and cancel farm vehicles, 3-wheel and 4-wheel homemade vehicles in the area; 588 vehicles have been supported at 2 levels of 4 million VND and 5 million VND; the total funding supported for vehicle owners is 3,288,000,000 VND... Mr. Kim Thanh Xuyen, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade said: "After receiving support, the district asked vehicle owners to sign a commitment to cancel, replace the vehicle as well as not continue to use other farm vehicles and homemade vehicles. And the district has assigned the task to the police and commune authorities to monitor these commitments".
Talking to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Cong Thu, Deputy Head of Quy Hop District Police, he said: From 2009 to now, the district police force has temporarily detained, confiscated and sold scrap metal to the state budget more than 30 violating agricultural vehicles, specifically from the beginning of 2013 to now, 15 vehicles have been caught while they were on the road. The District Traffic Safety Committee regularly invites commune and town leaders to thoroughly grasp and request strict implementation of propaganda and mobilization for people not to use illegal agricultural vehicles and homemade vehicles"...
Taking note of the information about “operating hours of farm vehicles” provided by reporters, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Cong Thu affirmed: “The district police will increase patrols and guards to arrest owners of farm vehicles that secretly operate and transport at dawn and noon.”
In fact, it is known that the current "chaos" of farm vehicles in Quy Hop district is mainly caused by the lax management role of the commune authorities. Explaining the indifference to farm vehicles running in defiance of the law - a commune chairman said: "If you want to eliminate farm vehicles, just eliminate them immediately, it is very easy, but farm vehicles are not only a means of transportation but also a means of livelihood for people. Banning farm vehicles to ensure traffic safety is right, but we should also give them more time to convert."
The commune chairman also admitted that in the commune, there have been cases of some people buying new farm vehicles... Obviously, this is not a "people-oriented" ideology but a harmful ideology for the people and is encouraging people to disregard the strictness of the law and violate the law. On January 9, 2013, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district issued Official Dispatch No. 19/UBND-CT to continue directing the review and strict prohibition of farm vehicles from circulating, but so far it seems that the commune-level authorities are still indifferent and take this lightly (?)...!
Thanh Chung