Detecting vehicles entering Vinh City in the wrong direction: Police say it's difficult, bus station owner says it's easy

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of May 10, Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Duy Ha - Deputy Head of Vinh City Police said that since the beginning of the year, the unit has discovered and handled 66 cases of passenger cars that did not have a fixed route to Vinh City but still ran in.

» Vehicles illegally enter Vinh city

» In half a year, traffic inspectors only fined 25 vehicles entering Vinh City in the wrong direction.

Regarding the information that vehicles driving in the wrong direction are brazenly passing through traffic police checkpoints without being checked or handled, Lieutenant Colonel Ha said that it is because the traffic police force has difficulty in identifying which vehicles are in violation.

“There are also many vehicles that do not have a fixed route in Vinh but are still registered and approved to enter the city to pick up and drop off passengers, so the traffic police cannot identify which vehicles are not allowed to enter. We cannot stop them just to check whether this vehicle is allowed to enter the city by the authorities or not if we do not detect any other violations,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ha.

A sleeper bus on the wrong side of the road weaves through Vinh streets. Photo: Tien Hung

“We also want to ban it completely, otherwise it will cause traffic jams and make the traffic police tired. However, the traffic police do not have the right to stop vehicles to check for errors. If they do so, they will be disciplined,” emphasized Lieutenant Colonel Ha.

Contrary to the opinion of Lieutenant Colonel Ha, Mr. Vu Hoang Huynh - Head of Vinh Bus Station, said that it is not difficult to recognize vehicles that are on the wrong route.

“Up to now, there is only one company with a fixed route in other provinces and cities that is allowed to enter the city to pick up and drop off passengers. All other vehicles with fixed routes in other provinces and cities must use the bypass road. If they enter here, they are considered to be in violation of the route,” said Mr. Huynh.

According to the leader of Vinh Bus Station, it is very easy to distinguish these types of vehicles, because on the windows of the passenger vans there are stickers, signs about fixed routes, information about departure and destination...

“The situation of buses going in the wrong direction to Vinh city and picking up passengers has significantly affected the number of passengers of fixed-route buses departing from the city. The buses that go in the wrong direction are not allowed to enter the station, so they pick up and drop off passengers right on the road, causing traffic instability. Frustrated by this situation, many bus companies operating at Vinh Bus Station have petitioned the station’s management, but we do not have the authority to handle it,” said Mr. Huynh.

According to the Head of Vinh Bus Station, passenger buses clearly state their departure and destination, so it is easy to detect buses that go off route. Photo: Tien Hung

Agreeing with Mr. Vu Hoang Huynh, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Chairman of Nghe An Automobile Transport Association said that it is very easy to recognize a passenger bus going the wrong way on Vinh streets because the front of the bus has a sign clearly stating the departure and destination.

“If the bus says Ha Tinh - Ha Noi but goes into Vinh city, it is wrong. The problem is whether the traffic police want to catch me or not. Because of this situation, I have been scolded by bus operators in Vinh city. They said the association "takes money" from bus owners who go the wrong way so that these buses can go into the city to take their customers. But in reality, we have no authority in this matter,” Mr. Hung said indignantly.

Tien Hung