A truck at a registration centre in Hà Nội. —Photo baotintuc.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has more than 170,000 trucks and nearly 53,000 coaches that are deemed past their shelf life and should not be driven, but most are still on the road.

Trần Anh Quân, acting head of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Office at the Việt Nam Register, said according to regulations, vehicles were not allowed to travel when their service life had expired.

Owner of expired vehicles must return the certificate of registration and number plate to the authorities.

Quân also said that the vehicles' owner had the right to destroy or sell the expired vehicles to scrap collectors.

According to Nguyễn Văn Phương, Deputy Head of Motor Vehicle Quality Office, currently the Government only stipulates the expiry date for trucks and coaches. Other types of cars, motorcycles, and motorbikes have not yet been regulated on the expiry date so far.

Coaches that are more than 20 years old, and trucks 25 years old, should not be used.

Under the Government’s Decree No 100/2019, the owner of an expired vehicle will receive a fine of VNĐ2-4 million (US$87-174) if he or she do not return the certificate of registration and number plate to the authority. Businesses or organisations using expired vehicles will be fined VNĐ4-8 million ($174-349) for the same violation.

If an expired vehicle is found to remain on the road, the driver of the vehicle will receive a fine of VNĐ4-6 million ($174-262), the driver’s driving licence will be revoked for up to three months and the vehicle will be confiscated.

However, only less than 10 per cent of owners of expired vehicles have complied with the regulations so far although vehicle registration centres in each province and city are assigned to provide the list of expired vehicles to local police to deal with violations.

The Việt Nam Register has said most of the expired vehicles are found on the roads in remote areas in mountainous provinces where there are few police patrols. 

Causes and solutions

Hoàng Xuân Thảo, of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Office, said poor observance of laws was  the main reason there were so many old coaches and trucks on the road.

The complex development of the COVID-19 pandemic had caused many localities to apply social distancing for long periods this year, therefore, vehicle owners could not go to the registration centre to return their certificate of registration and number plate to the authorities within the deadline, he said.

Nguyễn Văn Quyền, President of the Việt Nam Automobile Transportation Association said that the vehicle was a means of livelihood of many families and many had not complied with regulations because they did not have enough money to buy a new vehicle, he said.

Quyền suggested that they should receive financial support to buy a new vehicle.

“When the owner finds it easier and more profitable to destroy the expired vehicles than bearing the risk of running expired vehicles on the road, they will voluntarily comply with the rules,” he said.

He said agencies should issue a specific time to recall the certificates of registration and number plates of expired vehicles.

The registration centres are advised to work with the police in areas where the owner of expired vehicles live to order them to return the certificates of registration and number plates according to regulations.

"For example, within 15 days from the date of notification, if the expired vehicle owner does not voluntarily comply with the regulations, the local registration centre will coordinate with the commune-level police station to revoke the vehicle registration certificate and plate number," he said.

Data from the Việt Nam Register showed that since January 1, 2022, there will be an additional 20,680 expired coaches and trucks.

The agency has issued a notice, providing the list of expired vehicles to the Transport Department of provinces and cities to strictly handle violations according to the regulations.

The list of expired vehicles is published on the website of the Việt Nam Register at https://app.vr.org.vn/hetnienhan/HetNienHan.aspx.

Under the Government’s Decree No 95/2009, the service life is calculated from the year of vehicle manufacture, in which the service life of trucks is not more than 25 years and coaches are not more than 20 years. — VNS