Tighten the testing and issuance of driving licenses

On the morning of May 15, the Provincial People's Council's Legal Committee held a meeting with the Department of Transport under the supervision program on handling traffic accidents and administrative violations in the field of traffic. Photo: Minh Chi

Fines of more than 13 billion VND in the field of traffic

According to the report of the Department of Transport, in more than 3 years (2017 - 2019), the Department Inspectorate advised the Director of the Department to establish 16 inspection and examination teams by topic; handled 403 organizations and individuals for violations with a fine of more than 2 billion VND; revoked licenses and practice certificates for a period of time for 152 cases; revoked transport badges for 43 cases...

In addition, the Department Inspectorate also stepped up regular and surprise inspections and checks on infrastructure protection, handling of passenger transport vehicles violating regulations, overloaded and oversized cargo transport vehicles, and ensuring traffic safety on inland waterways. Accordingly, the industry issued decisions to fine nearly 3,700 organizations and individuals for violations with a total fine of more than 11 billion VND.

Traffic Inspectors check oversized and overloaded vehicles. Photo: Minh Chi

According to the Department of Transport, there are still many violations of encroachment on roadsides and traffic safety corridors, but there have been no effective measures to handle them; some decisions to punish administrative violations have not been implemented, mainly violations of protecting road traffic infrastructure.

The implementation of regulations on compulsory enforcement of decisions on administrative sanctions for violations of traffic works and traffic safety corridors faces many difficulties. The situation of non-compliance with the inspection orders of the Traffic Inspectorate still occurs; the inspection and examination activities of the force are not comprehensive on all routes...

Deputy Director of the Department of Transport Nguyen Duc An admitted that the infrastructure still has many shortcomings. Photo: Minh Chi

Tighten the issuance of driving licenses

At the meeting, the members of the monitoring delegation raised many issues affecting the situation of ensuring traffic order and safety in the province under the responsibility of the Department of Transport. These include handling "black spots", unreasonable traffic organization points as well as overcoming shortcomings in traffic infrastructure, lack of timely traffic signs and signals, etc.

Some members also pointed out the current situation of poor skills, awareness, and traffic culture of a segment of the population; raised the responsibility of the Department in managing the quality of training, testing, and granting of driving licenses to driving training and testing establishments.

In addition, there is the responsibility to handle and coordinate the handling of construction units of traffic works and projects that do not ensure traffic safety conditions for people; and the inspection and handling of oversized and overloaded vehicles.

Traffic Inspectors inspect passenger vehicles. Photo: Minh Chi

Some members pointed out the shortcomings in the re-issuance of driving licenses, which are creating loopholes for some cases where driving licenses are temporarily suspended to still easily re-issue them, or in some cases, own multiple driving licenses; the arrangement of bus routes still has many shortcomings, leading to competition for passengers on some overlapping routes...

From the above difficulties and problems, the monitoring team requested the Department of Transport to continue to pay attention to propaganda and dissemination of laws, especially to passenger and freight transport businesses, to overcome the situation of oversized and overloaded vehicles circulating in the area.

The Department needs to focus on overcoming "black spots" and shortcomings in traffic infrastructure, combined with strengthening the handling of violations of traffic safety corridors; urging the enforcement of decisions on handling traffic violations that have not been implemented.

Strengthening and tightening the work of testing, issuing driving licenses and registering motor vehicles and inland waterway vehicles...