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| Vehicles heading to Thu Duc intersection via Rach Chiec bridge__Photo: VNA |
Passed on June 27, the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety (the Law) aims to create a legal foundation for ensuring road traffic order and safety, protecting the life and health of road users, and building an orderly, disciplined and safe society, so as to guarantee better exercise of human rights and civil rights according to the 2013 Constitution and treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party.
The Law provides road traffic rules, road vehicles, road users, road traffic-related command, control, patrol and supervision, and settlement of road traffic accidents. It also defines state management responsibility and responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals involved in road traffic order and safety.
The 89-article Law will take effect on January 1 next year, except Article 10.3, which will come into force on January 1, 2026.
Road vehicles and vehicle license plates
The classification of road vehicles is stated in Article 34 of the Law, with smart vehicles added as a new type of road vehicles.
The Law also has provisions on vehicle license plates and their classification, auction of vehicle license plates, and rights and obligations of winners of vehicle license plate auctions.
Under Article 36.2, license plates are classified into:
(i) License plates with a white background, red letters, black numerals, and the symbol “NG”; which will be granted to vehicles of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and foreign staff members holding diplomatic identification cards of such missions/offices;
(ii) License plates with a white background, red letters, black numerals, and the symbol “QT”, which will be granted to vehicles of representative offices of international organizations and foreign staff members holding diplomatic identification cards of such organizations;
(iii) License plates with a white background, black letters and numerals, and the symbol “NN”, which will be granted to vehicles of foreign organizations, representative offices, and individuals, except those listed at item (iv) below;
(iv) License plates with a white background, black letters and numerals, and the symbol “CV”, which will be granted to vehicles of technical and administrative staff members holding official identification cards of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and international organizations;
(v) License plates with a blue background and white letters and numerals, which will be granted to vehicles of Party and State agencies, socio-political organizations, and public non-business units;
(vi) License plates with a red background and white letters and numerals, which will be granted to military vehicles;
(vii) License plates with a yellow background and black letters and numerals, which will be issued to vehicles used for transport business; and,
(viii) License plates with a white background and black letters and numerals, which will be granted to vehicles of domestic organizations and individuals other than those mentioned at items (v), (vi) and (vii) above.
Noticeably, the Law introduces important measures to protect the safety and life of children carried on school buses.
As stipulated in Article 10.3 of the Law, when carrying children under 10 years of age and under 1.35 meters in height on a car, it is not allowed to let such a child sit in the same row as the driver’s, except cars with only one row of seats. Drivers have to use, and instruct the use of, safety devices suitable for children.
Additionally, Article 46 of the Law says that school buses must be mounted with passenger image capture devices and child abandonment alert devices. Moreover, vehicles used for carrying preschool children and primary pupils must have seat belts appropriate to their age or have seats appropriate to their age as prescribed by law.
Particularly for foreigners’ overseas-registered right-hand drive automobiles operating on the road in Vietnam and motor vehicles brought into Vietnam by foreigners for tourism purpose, permits from competent agencies are required. The agencies granting permits for these automobiles and motor vehicles have the responsibility to immediately notify thereof to the immigration management agencies.
Driver’s licenses
Driver’s licenses are of the classes in line with the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic to facilitate economic and tourism development and foreign investment in Vietnam.
Driver’s licenses valid within Vietnam’s territory include driver’s licenses issued by Vietnam’s competent agencies; international driving permits, enclosed with national driver’s licenses suitable to the types of vehicles permitted to operate, issued by countries being members of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic; driver’s licenses suitable to the types of vehicles permitted to operate, issued by countries or territories with which Vietnam has signed treaties or international agreements on mutual driver’s license recognition; and foreign driver’s licenses suitable to the types of vehicles permitted to operate, issued by countries recognized under treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting member.
As per the Law, an international driving permit is a driving permit issued by a competent state agency of a country that is a member of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic according to a unified form. It is valid for at most three years from the date of issuance and must be consistent with the validity period of the holder’s national driver’s license.
Under Article 57 of the Law, holders of international driving permits issued by countries that are members of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic will, when operating on the road in Vietnam, bring along their valid international driving permits and national driver’s licenses suitable to the types of the vehicles they operate; and comply with Vietnam’s law on road traffic order and safety. In case an international driving permit holder violates Vietnam’s law on road traffic order and safety and therefore has his/her driver’s license revoked for a definite period, the revocation period must not exceed the period for which he/she is permitted to reside in Vietnam’s territory.
For Vietnamese and foreigners having permanent residence cards or temporary residence cards in Vietnam who have valid driver’s licenses issued by Vietnam or countries that are members of treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party, they will be issued international driving permits if they so wish.
International cooperation on road traffic order and safety
International cooperation on road traffic order and safety will be carried out on the basis of ensuring compliance with Vietnam’s law and relevant treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party; respecting the fundamental principles of international law; ensuring independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Fatherland; and protecting the interests of the State and lawful rights and interests of organizations and individuals.
International cooperation on road traffic order and safety covers the following activities:
- Concluding treaties and international agreements on road traffic order and safety;
- Exchanging information and transferring technologies related to road traffic order and safety;
- Carrying out training, coaching and capacity building for the forces engaged in road traffic order and safety assurance;
- Enhancing physical conditions to ensure road traffic order and safety;
- Remedying road traffic accidents; and,
- Performing other contents of international cooperation in accordance with Vietnam’s law and relevant treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party.
The Ministry of Public Security will, as the in-charge agency, coordinate with related ministries and sectors in assisting the Government in negotiating and concluding, or proposing competent authorities to conclude, treaties and international agreements, on road traffic order and safety.-
