'The scariest thing on the road is a tractor' - homemade concrete mixer

Homemade tractor mixing concrete in Nghia Thanh commune, Nghia Dan district (photo taken on March 10, 2022). Photo: Hai An

Present at Nghia Thanh commune, Nghia Dan district, we witnessed afarm vehicleold, broken down car with no windows, no horn, no lights, with a concrete mixer attached to the back, running wildly on the road.

A dilapidated farm vehicle with no windows, no horn, no lights has a concrete mixer attached to the back (photo taken in Nghia Thanh commune, Nghia Dan on March 10). Photo: Hai An

In the districtYen ThanhThere are quite a few homemade concrete mixers. Recently, while driving on Highway 7B through Xuan Thanh Commune, we were pressed against a homemade 3-wheel concrete mixer and had to quickly avoid it.

This homemade vehicle is very “strange”, shaped like a large motorbike, with 2 engines and a concrete mixer attached to the back. The driver sits in the front and drives the vehicle, looking unsteady and very unsafe.

A homemade 3-wheeled vehicle drives close to a car on National Highway 7B in Xuan Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District (photo taken on March 15). Photo: Hai An

According to some construction workers, using homemade concrete mixers “does more harm than good”; the cost of homemade concrete mixers is cheaper than hiring professional concrete mixers, however, the product quality is poor; because it is mainly handmade, the product is uneven. Not to mention that homemade vehicles running on the road have a very high risk of causing traffic accidents.

Homemade concrete mixer trucks are old and dilapidated, posing a high risk of causing traffic accidents. Photo: Hai An

Surveying on National Highway 7B, through Dien Dong and Dien Thai communes, we also saw images of homemade cars freely "speeding" on the road. Through investigation, homemade cars are produced by mechanics using old and dilapidated scrap, assembled and renovated by people without following any standards.

It is known that to make a homemade car, the owner spent 30-40 million VND to buy iron, steel and spare parts from auto scrap yards such as steering wheel, hydraulic shaft, brake pedal, etc. The machine is run by a motorbike engine.

Yen Thanh district police seized a homemade tractor. Photo: Archive

In Nghe An, there are still many homemade agricultural vehicles that regularly circulate on the roads. Although local authorities have taken many measures to propagate and handle them, the situation of homemade, bulky concrete mixers that endanger road users still occurs every day. Road users hope that the authorities will continue to strengthen inspection and control, resolutely detain vehicles, and handle them in accordance with the law.

According to Directive No. 46 dated December 9, 2004 of the Prime Minister and Joint Circular No. 32 dated December 28, 2007 of the Ministry of Public Security - Ministry of Transport, all types of homemade vehicles are prohibited from circulation from January 1, 2008. Homemade vehicles are also identified to include: agricultural vehicles, small tractors serving agricultural and forestry production, and rudimentary three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles.

Point b, Clause 3, Article 17, Decree 100/2019/ND-CP stipulates: Fines from VND 800,000 to VND 1,000,000 for violations of driving vehicles manufactured or assembled in violation of traffic regulations. In addition, drivers of homemade vehicles participating in traffic will have their vehicles confiscated and their driving licenses revoked for 1 to 3 months.

Potential risks from homemade "super cars"

(Baonghean.vn) – Currently, on social networks, there is a boom in cheap electric cars from China and homemade cars made by people. Besides the words of admiration, perhaps it is time to ask again the question about the safety of these types of cars.

There are still more than 9,000 homemade vehicles and farm equipment nationwide that have not been eliminated.

On December 6, the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) held a conference to review the implementation of management and support for replacing agricultural vehicles, three-wheeled motor vehicles, and 3-4-wheeled rudimentary vehicles that are subject to suspension from traffic.