Vehicles at the intersection of Nguyễn Trãi Street- Khuất Duy Tiến Street in Hà Nội .—VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Public Security has confirmed that drivers will not be penalised for disobeying traffic lights to allow emergency or priority vehicles to pass them in critical situations.

According to the Ministry, Article 23 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended in 2017) stipulates that running a red light to clear the way for a priority vehicle performing an urgent task is considered an action taken in an emergency.

Additionally, Article 11 of the Law on Administrative Penalties clearly states that violations in emergency situations will not be subject to fines.

Section 5, Article 27 of the 2024 Law on Road Traffic requires that when priority vehicles signal, all road users must slow down, move to the right-hand side of the road, or stop to give way. Toll stations must also ensure priority vehicles can pass without obstruction.

"Therefore, people can rest assured that not complying with traffic light signals to clear the way for emergency or priority vehicles in critical situations will not result in administrative penalties," the Ministry confirmed.

In such cases, when an offence report is issued, traffic signal authorities will collaborate with traffic police at checkpoints, review CCTV footage and show the driver the violation and the traffic light signal at the time of the incident.

For infractions detected later, traffic police will allow offenders to view a video recording of the entire violation, including the running of a red light, before preparing the penalty report, ensuring fairness and avoiding wrongful punishment.

Penalties

According to Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP, failure to give way to or obstruct an emergency vehicle will result in penalties.

Specifically, cyclists, motorised cyclists and operators of other non-motorised vehicles, who fail to give way to vehicles attempting to overtake or obstruct priority vehicles, will be fined between VNĐ100,000 ($4) and VNĐ200,000 ($8).

Operators of special-purpose vehicles, who fail to give way or obstruct priority vehicles on duty, will face fines ranging from VNĐ3 million ($119) to VNĐ5 million ($199).

Motorcycle and similar vehicle operators will face fines of VNĐ4 million ($159) to VNĐ6 million ($239).

Cars and similar vehicle operators will be fined between VNĐ6 million ($239) and VNĐ8 million ($319).

The Road Traffic Law of 2024 defines priority vehicles as fire engines and emergency vehicles responding to fires or other urgent tasks, vehicles from military, police and prosecutor's offices involved in urgent business, ambulances on emergency calls, vehicles undertaking flood prevention, disaster relief or public health tasks, along with funeral processions.

Decreasing violations

The decree, which amends and supplements Decree No. 100 and Decree No. 123 on administrative penalties in road traffic, came into force on January 1 this year.

Since its implementation, road traffic violations have notably decreased and public awareness has improved.

The Traffic Police Department under the ministry reports that after three weeks of enforcement, police nationwide detected and handled 230,672 cases of traffic violations.

This represents a decrease of 18,122 violations, equal to 7.3 per cent, compared to the previous period.

At the same time the department added that traffic safety has improved, with a reduction in both the number and severity of accidents.

The Ministry has noted a substantial decline in violations, particularly those leading to accidents, such as violations of speeding (down 28 per cent), drunk driving (down 13.5 per cent) and overloading (down 34.5 per cent).— VNS