The Ministry of Transport has just sent an official dispatch to the Vietnam Road Administration and the Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally-run cities to strengthen solutions to ensure order and road traffic safety during the Giap Thin Spring Festival season and in 2024.

The document signed by Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam stated that after the Lunar New Year, people's demand for travel, sightseeing, tourism, and festivals increased, potentially leading to traffic accidents and traffic congestion. In fact, in recent times, there have been a number of traffic accidents involving the transportation of passengers and goods by car, causing serious consequences.

To continue implementing solutions to ensure traffic order and safety, minimizing the risk of traffic accidents on the road, the Ministry of Transport requires agencies and units to strengthen propaganda and guidance on the correct implementation of legal regulations on business and conditions for automobile transportation business, raise awareness of businesses and drivers in ensuring traffic safety; especially pay attention to implementing regulations on driving time, speed, distance between vehicles on highways, technical safety conditions of vehicles, conditions of drivers doing business in transportation, and carrying the correct number of people as prescribed.

The Vietnam Road Administration directs Road Management Areas to strengthen inspection and review of traffic infrastructure systems, traffic organization on important highways and national highways, especially highways with only 2 lanes or no emergency lanes, at intersections, road sections with steep slopes, narrow curves, limited visibility that pose potential traffic safety risks, and promptly add guardrails and emergency shelters at steep passes (if necessary) on highways and national highways nationwide.

The Vietnam Road Administration coordinates and directs the Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally-run cities to improve the capacity and quality of passenger transport services; regularly inspects, prevents and handles drivers violating alcohol and drug concentrations, overloading, exceeding the prescribed number of passengers, and illegally increasing fares; manages the operation of transport vehicles (regarding speed, operating routes, continuous driving time and working hours of drivers during the day through extracting data from vehicle tracking devices) to handle violations according to regulations.

Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally-run cities shall strengthen inspection and review of the system of painted lines, road signs, and reflective warning devices at intersections, road sections with steep slopes, narrow curves, and limited visibility that pose a high risk of traffic safety to supplement and adjust accordingly; promptly repair damaged or eroded road sections; take timely remedial measures when incidents or accidents occur, especially on key traffic routes, routes leading to major festival areas, and tourist attractions that attract a large number of people.

The Department of Transport inspects and directs bus stations to strictly implement regulations on vehicles entering and leaving the station; resolutely not allowing vehicles and drivers who do not meet the prescribed conditions to leave the station.

Transport units regularly inspect and monitor their passenger transport activities through journey monitoring devices and cameras, requiring drivers to strictly comply with regulations when operating transport vehicles on the road.

For passenger transport business activities on fixed routes with journeys on highways and roads with steep slopes, transport business units need to focus on reminding drivers before each trip to increase awareness of compliance with regulations on driving time, speed, and distance between vehicles on highways.