Transport ministry proposes banning driving more than 3 hours at night

The Ministry of Transport proposes a regulation on driving duration. Illustrative image. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi - The Ministry of Transport proposed a ban on driving continuously for more than eight hours a day and more than three hours at night in a bid to raise road safety.

This is one of the contents in the draft Law on Road which is published for public comments and will be submitted to the National Assembly in October, expecting approval in May 2024.

The regulation on driving time is applied to drivers of transport vehicles (with yellow registration plates).

Specifically, the draft law’s article 56 regulates that between 10pm of the previous day and 6am of the next day, the continuous driving time must not exceed three hours and in the daytime hours, the total driving time of the driver must not exceed eight hours.

The draft also stipulates that the break time between two driving times is at least five minutes for taxi and bus drivers, and 15 minutes for truck drivers and other types of transport.

At night (from 10pm to 6am the next day), the minimum break between two drives is 30 minutes.

According to the ministry, the regulation on driving hours is to control the risk of traffic accidents caused by tired drivers, especially long-distance truck drivers.

Explaining this proposal, a member of the drafting committee said, one of the reasons why traffic accidents often occur at night is due to the human circadian rhythm.

At this time, the patrols to control and handle violations of the functional forces are often fewer and the roads are deserted so drivers are more likely to disregard traffic safety.

"The tightening of driving time at night will limit the driver's fatigue and overwork, thereby preventing traffic accidents," he said.

In support of this proposal, a transport expert said that in fact, in other countries, a night-time trip changes drivers every two hours.

The process of changing drivers depends on each business. The change of drivers may be on the car or at transfer points.

The expert also suggested that the draft law needs to clearly stipulate that the driver must have enough rest and have someone responsible for supervising the process.

However, after the draft law was published, the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association has written comments in the direction of opposing the regulation on driving time.

Nguyen Van Quyen, the association’s president, said that the regulation on driving time of drivers as in the draft is not appropriate.

"Long-distance drivers often choose to drive at night because the roads are empty, consuming less fuel and cool weather also helps reduce tire wear," Quyen told dantri.com.vn.

Besides, driving at night also has many benefits such as reducing traffic jams during the day, according to Quyen.

If it is regulated that each driver can only drive for a maximum of three hours at night, long-distance transport businesses will have to hire more drivers to ensure the rotation according to regulations.

According to the president, the regulation on driving time without specific pilot studies should not be incorporated into the Law.

If necessary, the drafting agency should let the Government make specific regulations, he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Colonel Pham Viet Cong, deputy chief of the Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee, said that in order to limit traffic accidents at night, it was necessary to install more lighting and warning systems on the road.

The functional forces also needed to strengthen the patrol in the time frame that traffic accidents often occur to raise the people's awareness of obeying the traffic law, Cong said.

In addition, it was necessary to evaluate traffic accidents occurring on each route to determine the cause and have specific solutions to overcome the issue, he said.

According to statistics of the National Traffic Safety Committee, more than 11,043 traffic accidents occurred in 2022, 40.33 per cent of which occurred from 4pm to 10pm and 18.24 per cent between 10pm and 4am.

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