Overcrowding at storage facilities and parking lots for impounded vehicles.

(Baonghean) - Layers of dust, rusted shock absorbers, flat tires, faded paint… these are the images of vehicles (mainly motorcycles) that have violated traffic laws and are currently accumulating in many impound lots and storage facilities. This situation not only wastes resources but also creates difficulties in allocating space for vehicle storage.

TLieutenant Colonel Nguyen Anh Tuan, Team Leader of the Traffic Police Team of Nghi Loc District Police, led us to see the impound lot for traffic violations that the team has seized recently. There are nearly 100 motorbikes here, including expensive scooters covered in dust, with rusted parts and faded paint from the rain and sun… According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Anh Tuan, many vehicles have been “sitting” here for over a year. Similar to the situation at Nghi Loc District Police, the impound lot of traffic violations at Vinh City Traffic Police Team is also overloaded. Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Duy Ha, Team Leader of Vinh City Traffic Police Team, said that the team processes the liquidation procedures annually, but the number of traffic violation and accident vehicles remaining is still high. Currently, in addition to the impound lot at 46 Phan Boi Chau Street, the unit also has to rent an additional parking lot at 2 Ly Thuong Kiet Street.

Lieutenant Colonel Cao Thanh Hai, Head of the Enforcement Team of the Provincial Traffic Police Department, said that currently, the Department is temporarily holding over 300 vehicles that have accumulated traffic violations, many of which have exceeded the processing deadline by 6-7 months, and some even by a year. If not processed promptly, in addition to overloading the storage facilities, damage to these motorcycles is inevitable. Investigations by traffic police units indicate that when temporarily seized, most of the vehicles are at least in drivable condition. However, after being left in storage for a long time without owners claiming them, for various reasons, parts have fallen off, rusted, and deteriorated to the point of being considered scrap metal. Therefore, the fact that thousands of traffic violation vehicles are currently sitting idle in storage facilities and parking lots throughout the province raises many concerns, potentially leading to a loss of their usefulness and resulting in waste. Furthermore, due to limited parking space, the overcrowding of these vehicles also creates difficulties for law enforcement agencies in handling and resolving cases.

A corner of the impound lot for illegally parked vehicles at the Nghi Loc District Police Station.

According to records provided by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Anh Tuan, in 2013, the Traffic Police team of Nghi Loc District Police announced the violations to vehicle owners three times in the Nghe An Police Newspaper. In addition, they coordinated with the police team in charge of the communes to visit 30 cases to deliver summonses and encourage people to come and resolve the issue, but only 2 cases came to retrieve their vehicles. Lieutenant Colonel Cao Thanh Hai, Head of the Enforcement Team, Provincial Traffic Police Department, said: "Many cases involve people from outside the province. We rely on the address in the violation report to send notifications, and we also coordinate with the local police to contact them for resolution, but it is very difficult. For example, in the case of Pham Ngoc Lan, who violated the law on December 5, 2013, the address in the penalty report was recorded as Hoa Nam, O Cho Dua, Dong Da, Hanoi, but the Dong Da District Police verified that there was no such address..."

In a conversation with us, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duy Dong, Deputy Head of the Provincial Traffic Police Department, stated that the procedures for handling traffic violations are simple. Once drivers present all relevant documents, the officers will process the cases quickly. However, to date, thousands of vehicles with traffic violations remain unclaimed throughout the province. The issue here is that the vehicles' origins may be unclear, leading owners to avoid completing the necessary procedures. In cases where vehicles are very old and dilapidated, or where owners commit serious violations resulting in fines that are close to or even exceed the value of the vehicle, the owners simply leave the matter to the authorities.

For example, the case of Mr. Cao Sy (residing in Dien Phu, Dien Chau), the owner of a SPHONDA motorcycle with license plate 37 P8 - 59xx (an old Chinese-made motorcycle), whom we met at the Traffic Police Enforcement Team, is a case in point. Mr. Sy said: After being caught and having his motorcycle impounded for carrying three people, not wearing helmets, and not carrying vehicle documents, the fine amounted to over 1 million VND, not including storage fees. I initially decided not to get the motorcycle back, because the value of the motorcycle might not even equal the fine. But after a while without a vehicle, I felt "stuck," and I didn't have the money to buy a new one. Besides, after the motorcycle was impounded in July 2013, the provincial Traffic Police Department repeatedly sent notices requesting me to come in for processing. After much hesitation, I finally decided to go and retrieve it today. Luckily, I only had to pay for two months' storage, equivalent to 300,000 VND. If I had calculated the storage fees from the time of seizure until now, it would have been over 1 million VND...

To avoid the prolonged waste of both vehicle usage value and parking space as is currently the case, many opinions suggest that relevant authorities, especially the police force, need to reform administrative procedures and expedite the processing of traffic violations; increase the sending of notices and phone calls inviting vehicle owners to come and process the violations, and inform them of the fines and parking fees. Once it is determined that the driver has not come to pay the fine and reclaim the vehicle as required, the relevant authorities should further streamline procedures related to vehicle confiscation, appraisal, and auctioning of outstanding traffic violations.

Quang An