Vietnam gov urges ministries to improve traffic safety

Binh says the Ministry of Transport needs to scrutinise procedures for re-issuing driving licences, and to inspect the training and examination process for drivers at training centres nationwide.

He is urging the Ministry of Public Security to direct traffic police units to increase checks and to deal with drivers who are over the blood-alcohol limit. Also, he wants the ministry to handle violations in which drivers could obtain a licence through faking certificates or cheating during driving tests.

A request has been made to the Ministry of Health to help conduct drug and alcohol tests on commercial drivers. Binh also wants the ministry to perform periodic health examination for drivers of commercial vehicles and carry out drug tests for all drivers in medical examinations.

The Ministry of Finance is being called upon to provide supplement regulations on penalties for insurance firms which fail to pay benefits to insurers on time.

Binh is advising the ministries and the provincial/municipal people’s committees to deploy all available forces to handle traffic violations during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year holiday (Tet), which lasts until February 10.

Steps are being taken elsewhere in south-east Asia to improve traffic safety for the general public. Last October, ride-hailing company Grab launched a %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external programme false http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/utc/news/grab-campaign-to-raise-transport-safety-in-south-east-asia/ false false%> to make its service safer for drivers and passengers while working with government agencies to address safety concerns.