New points of the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety
According to the Ministry of Public Security, after receiving comments from National Assembly deputies, the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety has several new points.
On June 2, 2023, at the 5th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the National Assembly agreed to include the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety and the Road Law in the Law and Ordinance Development Program for the 15th National Assembly to comment at the 6th Session (October 2023).
Agree to change the project name
Accordingly, after receiving comments from National Assembly delegates, the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety has the following new points:
Regarding the name of the draft Law, the Government has agreed to change the name of the project "Law on Ensuring Road Traffic Order and Safety" to the project "Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety". The project name "Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety" is consistent with the scope of regulation, subjects of regulation and objectives of the draft Law, which is to regulate road traffic rules; conditions of vehicles participating in road traffic; drivers of vehicles participating in road traffic; command and control of road traffic; settlement of road traffic accidents; patrol and control of road traffic order and safety; state management of road traffic order and safety.
Rename some chapters, reduce 9 articles
Regarding the structure of the draft Law: The draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety consists of 8 chapters and 62 articles. Compared to the draft Law submitted to the 14th National Assembly at the 10th Session, the draft Law has reduced 9 articles.
Rename Chapter III, Chapter IV, Chapter VI to match the scope of the Law (Chapter III changes the name "Vehicles and drivers participating in road traffic" to "Conditions for vehicles participating in road traffic and drivers participating in road traffic"; Chapter IV changes the name "Organizing safety, commanding, controlling traffic and resolving road traffic congestion" to "Commanding and controlling traffic to ensure road traffic order and safety"; Chapter VI changes the name "Enforcing the law in detecting and handling violations of road traffic order and safety" to "Patrolling and controlling road traffic order and safety").
Remove the provisions on license plate auctions from the draft Law because on November 15, 2022, the National Assembly passed Resolution No. 73/2022/QH15 on piloting the auction of car license plates.
Revise the concept of traffic accidents, expanding the scope of traffic accidents beyond those occurring on roads and also expanding "other public traffic areas" to regulate and handle traffic accidents occurring in specific areas such as urban areas, industrial zones, agency and enterprise areas with internal roads and defense land areas for people to use internal roads.
Supplementing the content of the agency responsible for managing training, testing, and issuing driving licenses
Add the content of the agency responsible for managing training, testing, and granting driving licenses to Clause 3, Article 60 (State management responsibility for road traffic order and safety), which stipulates: "3. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for organizing the implementation of laws on road traffic order and safety in planning, investment, construction, management, operation, exploitation, maintenance, and protection of road infrastructure; in managing the quality of technical safety and environmental protection of road vehicles, developing road vehicles; in managing road transport and managing training, testing, and granting driving licenses".
Review and revise regulations on road signaling systems in the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety to ensure consistency with the draft Law on Roads, such as: Clause 1, Article 23 (Road signals) of the draft Law on Roads has added the provision that "Traffic controller's command" is a form of road signaling; Clause 1, Article 10 (Observance of road signals) of the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety has added the provision "Road signaling audio equipment"; amend the provisions in Clauses 4, 5, 6 and add Clauses 7, 8, 9, 10, Article 10 (Observance of road signals) of the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety to be consistent with Article 23 (Road signals) of the draft Law on Roads.
Children under 10 years old when traveling in a car are not allowed to sit in the same row as the driver.
Continue to research and internalize the provisions of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic to supplement the draft Law, including:
+ Strengthening the protection of vulnerable people when participating in road traffic as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 9 (General rules): "4. At places where there are pedestrian crossings or other signs for pedestrians, vehicle drivers must observe, reduce speed or stop to give way to pedestrians and wheelchairs of people with disabilities crossing the road. At places where there are no pedestrian crossings, vehicle drivers must observe, if they see pedestrians or wheelchairs of people with disabilities crossing the road or there is a crossing signal, they must reduce speed or stop to give way to pedestrians and wheelchairs of people with disabilities crossing the road".
+ Add regulations on child protection in Clause 3, Article 9 (General rules): "3. Children under 10 years old or under 1.35 meters tall carried in a car must not sit in the same row as the driver when participating in road traffic; children under 4 years old must be carried in a seat designed for children (except for passenger transport vehicles according to road law regulations). The driver is responsible for checking and instructing children on how to fasten seat belts".
+ Add regulations to minimize accidents from oncoming vehicles to Clause 5, Article 12 (Lane Use): "5. On two-way roads without a hard median strip in the middle with two or more motor vehicle lanes in one direction, vehicles participating in traffic in one direction must not enter the lane of the opposite direction".
Supplementing the content of integrating data of vehicle and driver documents into the electronic identification account
The draft Law also adds regulations regulating "pregnant women" participating in traffic to Point a, Clause 3, Article 22 (Crossing ferries, crossing pontoon bridges), Article 29 (Pedestrians, people with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, and children participating in traffic) of the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety.
Add a regulation prohibiting the use of horns from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in urban areas, residential areas, areas near hospitals and schools to Clause 2, Article 20 (use of horn signals) of the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety.
Add provisions prohibiting the use of other stimulants prohibited by law to Clause 2, Article 8 (Prohibited acts).
Add content on integrating data of vehicle and driver documents into the electronic identification account in point a, clause 5, Article 54 of the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, which stipulates: "In case the document information of the vehicle and driver has been synchronized into the electronic identification account, control of such document information shall be carried out on the electronic identification account".
The above new points will be the legal basis for authorities to implement in order to facilitate people in participating in traffic and carrying out administrative procedures.