Cars stop and park haphazardly despite no parking signs

Stopping and parking arbitrarily

In Vinh City, there are many roads that prohibit stopping and parking in many forms. Specifically, the regulation "No parking on one side of the road" during rush hours (morning from 7:00 to 12:00; afternoon from 13:30 to 17:00) on the following roads: Dao Duy Tu (section from Truong Thi intersection to Tran Quang Dieu intersection); Dinh Bat Tuy (section from Truong Thi intersection to Tran Quang Dieu intersection).

Regulation "No parking on the roadway" during rush hours (from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) on Tran Quang Dieu Street (section from Dao Duy Tu intersection to Dang Thuc Hua intersection).

Three streets, Dao Duy Tu, Tran Quang Dieu, Dinh Bat Tuy in Truong Thi ward (Vinh city), have been installed with signs prohibiting parking on one side of the road. Graphic material by Lam Tung

Previously, Vinh city had posted signs prohibiting stopping and parking on Le Hong Phong, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Loi, and Quang Trung streets during rush hours. The ban is from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. in the morning and from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the afternoon.

However, according to the reporter's records, on many roads with the above prohibition signs, there is a situation where people ignore the regulations. Vehicles are parked everywhere on the sidewalks and roads regardless of the prohibition signs. This situation occurs a lot on Le Hong Phong, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Loi, Quang Trung...

Illegal parking occurs on many roads. Photo courtesy of Quang An

When asked, some drivers said they had not paid attention to the prohibition sign, others said they had seen the prohibition sign but only "stopped for a moment" to buy something, then left immediately. As for taxi drivers, when asked about strictly following the regulation of not stopping or parking on the sidewalk, most said they knew the regulation but explained that because of "a living", they had to park in places with a lot of people to get customers.

Places with no-entry signs are like that, many roads without no-entry signs, the sidewalks not only become places to stop and park, but even become places for vehicles to gather and wash cars. For example, on Nguyen Sy Sach Street, the street with the most self-drive and driver-driven car rental establishments in Vinh City, these establishments blatantly turn the sidewalks and roads here into places to "display" cars, affecting traffic participants and urban aesthetics.

A long row of rental cars parked openly on Nguyen Sy Sach street at noon on August 27. Photo courtesy of PV

It is known that the People's Committee of Hung Dung Ward has repeatedly dispatched urban forces and ward police to handle these violations, however, this situation still occurs frequently, and the number of violations is even increasing due to the increasing number of rental cars.

Not to mention, the situation of stopping and parking in front of school gates, hospitals, on streets with many shopping stores... during rush hour is also becoming the main cause of traffic jams, causing loss of urban beauty.

Need a synchronous solution

Talking to us about this issue, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duy Ha - Captain of the Traffic Police Team of Vinh City Police said: From January 1 to September 12, 2019, the city police handled 1,297 cases of illegal stopping and parking, including 192 passenger cars, 266 trucks and 839 cars, collecting a fine of 898 million VND. However, the violation situation continues, because in addition to objective factors regarding traffic infrastructure, the number of vehicles is increasing rapidly, the awareness of vehicle owners and traffic participants is still limited, stopping and parking wherever is convenient.

Sharing the same view, Major Le Van Son, head of Truong Thi ward police, said: Since the beginning of the year, the ward's functional forces have handled 382 cases, collecting fines of 192 million VND, most of which were related to illegal stopping and parking.

Vehicles that stop or park illegally are locked and fined by authorities. Photo courtesy of Tr. Duong

Accordingly, routes such as Tran Quang Dieu, Dao Duy Tu and Dinh Bat Tuy, which previously had chaotic stopping and parking situations, encroaching on sidewalks and roads, are now basically clear, ensuring traffic safety, recognized by all levels and people. However, being the central area of ​​the city, with many routes and a lot of traffic, it is not easy to thoroughly handle stopping and parking violations.

For example, Phan Sy Thuc Street is right next to Goong Lake, where there are many shops, so illegal parking and stopping happens frequently. Or Nguyen Trung Ngan Street, right at Quan Lau Market, is similar... Meanwhile, the ward only has 2 public order police, so it is difficult to monitor and handle everything. Not to mention, the apartment buildings in the area do not have parking lots, so people have to find parking around, on the side streets, more or less affecting traffic order and safety, but handling is very difficult.

Thus, it can be seen that the rapid increase in the number of automobiles in the area (according to statistics of the Provincial Traffic Police Department, from January 1, 2019 to September 12, 2019, 8,475 new cars were registered, bringing the total number of cars currently managed to 115,307, of which Vinh City alone currently has 32,724 cars) is not only a pressure on traffic infrastructure, management agencies, functional forces, but also on those who own cars.

Because recently, to prevent stopping and parking, on September 11 and 12, some residents on Le Hong Phong Street (in Hung Binh Ward) and Phan Dang Luu Street (Truong Thi Ward) used bamboo spikes and broken chairs placed right on the sidewalk to prevent stopping and parking in front of shops. The incident was immediately handled by the wards, but it is difficult to be sure that it will not continue without the intervention of the authorities.

Obstacles placed by people to prevent vehicles from stopping and parking on Le Hong Phong and Phan Dang Luu streets, on the afternoon of September 11 and 12. Photo courtesy of Khanh An

Talking to us, Mr. Tran Ngoc Tu - Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee said: The situation of stopping and parking vehicles in the wrong places not only causes loss of urban beauty but also affects traffic safety on the roads in the city.

Therefore, in the coming time, the City People's Committee will direct the City Police to continue to promote the dissemination of legal regulations on handling administrative violations of illegal stopping, parking, and turning vehicles at places with signs prohibiting turning vehicles. At the same time, strengthen the inspection force, coordinate with the forces of the wards to resolutely and strictly handle violations.

Mr. Tu affirmed that handling vehicles stopping and parking in the wrong place is the responsibility of the authorities. Therefore, the situation of people placing obstacles on the road to prevent cars from stopping and parking is an administrative violation in the field of road traffic. First, it is assigned to the wards where the phenomenon occurs, to coordinate with the city's professional departments to promptly remind. At the same time, assign the professional teams of the City Police to verify and collect evidence to have a basis for further handling, ensuring resoluteness and not letting it happen again.

Violations of stopping and parking regulations were promptly reminded and handled by Truong Thi Ward Police. Photo: D.C.

Mr. Ho Quang Canh, Head of the Department of Traffic Infrastructure Management, Department of Transport, said: Based on the assessment of the routes with no-stop signs, we will advise the Provincial People's Committee to deploy no-stop and no-parking signs on other routes, based on specific surveys.

At the same time, coordinate with other departments and branches to implement Decision No. 2958/QD-UBND dated August 1, 2019 of the Provincial People's Committee, on adjusting the planning for the construction of traffic intersections, parking lots and public sanitation works in Vinh City in a synchronous direction with land use planning and urban infrastructure, meeting people's parking needs in the short and long term, in line with the city's socio-economic development speed.

It can be seen that handling the violation of stopping and parking indiscriminately is extremely necessary to control and reduce traffic congestion in Vinh city at present. Accordingly, the authorities need to regularly check and remind vehicle owners to stop and park properly, and strictly handle vehicles that intentionally violate the regulations. If it happens again, the penalty level must be increased. In addition, the authorities need to study, adjust and supplement car parking spots, especially in central, densely populated areas, hospitals and schools.

On the part of traffic participants, vehicle owners must increasingly raise their awareness in building traffic culture, ending the mentality of stopping and parking wherever is convenient, leading to conflicts with the owners of houses facing the street and violating road traffic laws.

According to Decree No. 46/2016/ND-CP, the act of stopping or parking a car in an unauthorized place will be subject to administrative penalties. The fine for illegally stopping or parking a car can range from 100,000 to 1,200,000 VND, and for more serious violations, the fine can be up to 6,000,000 VND.