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(Baonghean) - After more than 8 years of implementing the Prime Minister's decision to ban farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles from operating, the elimination of these vehicles in the province is still facing many difficulties. Faced with the above situation, on August 26, 2015, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 5950 on inspecting and thoroughly handling farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles in the province...

Up to now, the people of Dien Chau district still cannot forget the serious accident that occurred on July 14, in Dien Doai commune. That day, a tractor truck carrying acacia into the forest overturned, injuring 10 people. Previously, on June 16, on National Highway 1A, passing through Dien Thinh commune, there was also a traffic accident between a tractor truck and a 4-seat car. The cause was determined to be that the tractor truck was carrying bulky materials, when it overtook, it could not control its speed, the steering wheel broke, causing the vehicle to overturn in the middle of the road.

Implementing the Prime Minister's decision to ban farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles from operating, recently, the Traffic Police and the Department of Transport Inspectorate have increased patrols, control and strictly handled violations of suspended vehicles. However, the handling only solves the "tip" of the problem. According to Lieutenant Colonel Le Thanh Nghi, Deputy Head of the Provincial Traffic Police Department, detecting and handling farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles subject to suspension from circulation still faces many difficulties. These vehicles mainly operate on rural roads, remote areas. In addition, the functional force is too thin, while people often choose to drive during breaks, making it difficult to detect and handle. Therefore, the handling task is mainly assigned to the Traffic Police teams in the districts. Major Dao Hong Nguyen, Captain of the Traffic Police Team (Nam Dan District Police) said that in 2 years (2013 - 2014), the Traffic Police force inspected, detected and handled 11 cases and confiscated 11 vehicles, mainly homemade tractors. However, according to Major Nguyen, the handling of tractors has not been very effective due to limited coordination between sectors, low compliance awareness of the people, and in some cases, when the vehicles were confiscated, they still obstructed and caused difficulties for the authorities.

Farm vehicles openly circulate on National Highway 46. (Photo taken in Nam Linh commune, Nam Dan)

In fact, most of the farm vehicles currently in circulation in the province are made by mechanical establishments using agricultural engines and adding a body. These vehicles do not meet technical requirements, are rarely repaired, and are not safe when participating in traffic. Most of the farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles in operation are places where many "no"s gather: No registration, inspection; no license; no lights; no horn. The drivers do not have a driver's license and most of them are "blind" to the Road Traffic Law. Therefore, these vehicles are considered the cause of many serious traffic accidents in recent times. After Resolution 32 of the Prime Minister on banning farm vehicles and motor vehicles was issued, the Provincial People's Committee directed all levels and localities to implement many solutions to review and mobilize people to strictly comply. Accordingly, a Decision was issued on the scope and operating time, prohibiting agricultural vehicles from circulating in inner cities, inner towns, densely populated areas, national highways, provincial roads and announcing that they are only allowed to circulate on rural roads to serve agricultural and forestry production. In addition, in order to solve difficulties for people whose vehicles are subject to suspension of circulation under Resolution No. 32/2007/NQ-CP, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 548 dated April 29, 2009 on support for replacing agricultural vehicles, tractors, and 3- and 4-wheeled homemade vehicles subject to suspension from traffic. The Provincial People's Committee has supported 9,036 vehicles with a total amount of nearly VND 51,692 billion, for vehicle owners to replace or convert.

According to data from the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee, by 2012, some districts such as Anh Son, Que Phong, Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Quy Chau, Con Cuong had basically eliminated all farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles. Meanwhile, in some districts, the number of farm vehicles is still high. Specifically, Nam Dan still has 101 vehicles, mainly front-end farm vehicles; Dien Chau still has about 50 homemade vehicles, mainly concentrated in Dien Ngoc, Dien Bich, Dien Ky communes. Currently, localities are conducting inspections and reviews of the number of farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles in the area according to the request of the Provincial People's Committee. Mr. Le Van Sy, Deputy Head of the Industry and Trade Department of Nam Dan District, said: “In 2013, there were 207 agricultural locomotives in the district and it is not excluded that people install additional containers in the back to transport agricultural products and construction materials. Because these machines all have valid documents and are a means of livelihood for many families, the solution has not been drastic enough.”

In particular, in Vinh City and Quy Chau District, there are still about 89 owners of agricultural vehicles who have not received the State's support for conversion. The reason is that the completion of documents and submission to competent authorities is slow. Therefore, many people are still using agricultural vehicles without liquidating or canceling them. To completely resolve this problem, Vinh City People's Committee assigned the Urban Management Department to preside over, coordinate with the Finance Department to prepare documents according to regulations and advise the People's Committee to consider allocating the city budget to support the conversion. From this point on, these vehicles are not allowed to circulate on the roads. When discovered, the police force will confiscate them and organize the liquidation and public cancellation according to regulations. The City People's Committee also assigned the responsibility to the Chairmen of the Ward People's Committees and the Chiefs of Ward and Commune Police if they allow agricultural vehicles and homemade motor vehicles to circulate illegally, they must be held responsible.

Faced with the above situation, on August 26, 2015, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Letter No. 5950 on the inspection and final handling of farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles in the province. In particular, it requested the Provincial Police to advise on the establishment of an interdisciplinary team to organize the inspection, confiscation and destruction of farm vehicles and homemade 3- and 4-wheeled motor vehicles circulating in the area. For localities, the Provincial People's Committee requested to review, make a list and notify vehicle owners to immediately liquidate and completely destroy farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles in operation before September 30. Mr. Vo Minh Duc, Chief of Office of the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee, said: In previous years, through inspections, many establishments were discovered to be manufacturing and assembling farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles. Although the team requested the district to mobilize and propagate workshop owners to comply with the suspension of operations, many establishments have not strictly implemented it. The reason is that the coordination between localities and functional forces is not tight. Patrolling, controlling and handling forces are not strict and are still lenient, so the efficiency is not high. Therefore, the committee has advised the Provincial People's Committee to establish an interdisciplinary inspection team to thoroughly resolve the situation of farm vehicles and homemade motor vehicles circulating on the road.

It can be seen that in order to fundamentally solve the potential risks of traffic accidents from farm vehicles and homemade vehicles, it is necessary for the authorities to have more synchronous and drastic measures. In particular, it is necessary to strictly handle cases that have received money but have not converted their vehicles or changed their jobs. In addition, there needs to be active coordination from the authorities of communes, wards, the Fatherland Front, and organizations in disseminating and educating the awareness of people as well as vehicle owners about the provisions of the Road Traffic Law, not being allowed to participate in traffic on national highways... in order to limit unfortunate accidents from these types of vehicles.

Pham Bang