Today, the penalty for running a yellow light is the same as for running a red light: Should yellow lights be abolished?

As soon as information about the penalty for running a yellow light was announced, there were many different opinions about the fine level as well as the reasonableness of this regulation.

From August 1, according to Decree 46 of the Government, vehicles participating in road traffic will be fined if they run a yellow light. Accordingly, driving a car through a yellow light will be punished like running a red light, with a fine of 1.2 million - 2 million VND; Motorcycles, motorbikes, electric motorbikes, electric bicycles from 300,000 - 400,000 VND. Tractors, specialized motorbikes, the fine is 400,000 - 600,000 VND; The fine for rudimentary vehicles is from 60,000 - 80,000 VND.

With the above fine, many people ask: Running a yellow light is fined the same as running a red light, why not remove the yellow light to save money? There is even an opinion that: At many intersections there are no green or red lights, only yellow warning lights, so will traffic participants still go or not?

There are many conflicting opinions about punishing yellow lights like red lights (illustrative photo)

Difficult to punish because the boundary between red and yellow lights is still unclear

According to the Education newspaper, Mr. Tran Quang Anh, an employee of an O. supermarket (Cong Quynh street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) said that yellow light violations are very likely to happen. When approaching the painted line (stop line), the green light signal changes to yellow, the vehicle cannot stop suddenly, it is forced to continue. And according to the regulations, overtaking will definitely result in a fine. But if you are approaching the painted line, encounter a yellow light signal and suddenly stop, it is easy to be hit by the vehicle coming from behind.

“In the above situations, road users will encounter many difficulties in stopping or going. If they have to pay the same penalty as a red light, it is really too high,” said Mr. Tran Quang Anh.

On many streets today, when the green light turns yellow, cars stop, but on the contrary, motorbikes still pass freely, and only stop completely when the red light appears.

Thanh Giang, a motorcyclist, said she could not stop at a yellow light even though she knew it was against the law. Because if she stopped, the vehicle behind her would crash into her.

Meanwhile, Ms. Thu Tam (living in Tan Phu District) said that she understood that the yellow light is to signal vehicles to prepare to stop, while the red light is to stop completely, so when she encountered a yellow light, she still drove normally. Moreover, up to now, when the green light turned to yellow, there were still many vehicles driving, but she had never seen any warnings or fines.

Regarding the fine for running a yellow light, reader Le Ung Ho commented that when fined for running a yellow light, each post must have a countdown timer, and if broken, it must be replaced immediately.

Meanwhile, reader Tung Lam said that if the yellow light is flashing, it is still okay to drive normally, even in the case of a red light at an intersection. When the yellow light is flashing and the car has already crossed the line, there is no fault.

Reader Thanh Nam suggested that to avoid being caught off guard, each intersection should have two lines. If you reach the first line and see a yellow light, you must stop before the second line. The duration of the yellow light must be at least 3 seconds.

Ngo Thanh Ha, from Vinh Phuc, said that punishing people for running yellow lights like red lights is ineffective because many people still drive and cross the street when they see yellow lights. The best solution is to remove yellow lights. There are only green and red lights.

Agreeing with the above viewpoint, reader Nguyen Thi Thom, in Ho Chi Minh City, expressed her opinion that on the roads, only green and red lights should be left to make it easier for traffic participants to control their vehicles. It is unreasonable to punish yellow lights as red lights.

Not in compliance with Road Traffic Law

According to Zing, Lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom, Nguyen Anh Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association) said that the difference and controversy in public opinion is that Decree 46 stipulates that the fine for running a red light is nearly doubled and the penalty for running a yellow light is equal to that for running a red light.

According to the lawyer, Clause 3, Article 10 of the 2008 Road Traffic Law stipulates: A green signal means you can go; a red signal means you are prohibited from going; while a yellow signal means you must stop before the stop line, except in cases where you have already gone past the stop line, in which case you may continue to go. If the yellow signal is flashing, you can go, but you must slow down, pay attention, and give way to pedestrians crossing the street.

"Thus, running a yellow light is considered by road traffic law as an act of disobeying traffic light signals and will be subject to administrative penalties," said lawyer Thom.

According to lawyer Thom, the act of running a yellow light while continuing to move is different in nature and level from intentionally running a red light. Therefore, Decree 46 stipulates the same penalty level which is inconsistent with the Road Traffic Law.

Lawyers analyze that the situation of running a yellow light can be unintentional. On the contrary, the act of running a red light is completely intentional. Yellow lights often appear quickly, only a few seconds, so it is difficult to determine whether or not the stop line has passed. The regulation of the violation of running a yellow light as a red light, inadvertently removes the meaning of the yellow light.

According to the lawyer's point of view, traffic police should impose a lower penalty for running a yellow light than for running a red light (as currently stipulated in Decree 171). Punishing a yellow light violation as severely as a red light violation can cause difficulties for enforcement officers because it is difficult to determine with the naked eye if the driver crosses the line when the yellow light signal is on.

“Not all intersections are equipped with traffic surveillance cameras. Therefore, there will be many disputes between enforcement officers and traffic participants,” said lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom./.

According to VOV