Pickup trucks must have "truck" badges and be restricted from circulation?

According to Decree 86/2014 on business and conditions for automobile transportation business, from July 1, 2018, automobiles with a designed load capacity of less than 3.5 tons participating in transportation business must be affixed with a "truck" badge. Regarding this regulation, many vehicle owners are still confused, such as: What types of pickup trucks are required to be affixed with a "truck" badge? Are pickup trucks with a "truck" badge restricted from circulating on certain routes like regular trucks?

Pickup trucks will have to have a truck badge if they meet the conditions of Decree 86/2014.

Responding to this issue, Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Road Administration, said that Clause 1, Article 50 of Circular 63/2014 stipulates: Freight transport business units that do not collect money directly must be granted a license to operate automobile transport.

These cases are subject to the following subjects: Using vehicles to transport dangerous goods according to Government regulations; Using vehicles to transport oversized and overweight goods according to regulations on road load and size limits; Having 5 or more vehicles; Using vehicles with a permitted carrying capacity of 10 tons or more to transport goods.

Based on the above regulations, transport business units that do not collect money directly (including production establishments or business stores that are not transport businesses that only transport their own goods, not hired goods) using vehicles with a permitted cargo volume of less than 10 tons to transport goods and with a number of less than 5 vehicles are not subject to being granted a license to transport by car, a transport badge and installing a journey monitoring device.

The attachment of transport badges to pickup trucks is similar to the above regulations. That means pickup trucks must be issued a "truck" badge in case the vehicle belongs to a transport business registered unit and has more than 5 vehicles. For pickup trucks operating in the transport business, they are subject to being issued a badge," Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien affirmed.

"Vehicles granted badges under Decree 86/2014, in addition to complying with regulations on business and conditions for automobile transportation business, must also comply with the provisions of the Road Traffic Law, implementing guidelines and the road signaling system when traveling on the road," said Ms. Hien.

According to the provisions of Clause 3.31, Article 3 on the interpretation of terms of the National Technical Regulation on Road Signs (QCVN41:2016 of the Ministry of Transport): "Pick-up trucks with a cargo bed structure attached to the vehicle body, with a permissible load capacity determined according to the Certificate of technical safety inspection and environmental protection of road motor vehicles of less than 1,500 kg and with 5 seats or less are considered passenger cars".

Thus, pickup trucks (Pick-up vehicles) as prescribed above, if granted a "truck" badge when traveling on the road, will comply with road sign regulations like cars. However, when participating in traffic, drivers need to pay attention to signs related to vehicle traffic restrictions such as hourly prohibition signs, prohibition signs for each type of vehicle, and signs written in words to indicate prohibitions.

Traffic Newspaper