Traffic in Hà Nội's Kim LIên Tunnel. Turning on daytime running lights by millions of motorbikes is not appropriate in Viêt Nam. — Photo vov.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Transport has removed a provision which mandates motorbikes' running lights to be always on during daytime in its draft revised Law on Road Traffic.

The revised law stipulated that all motorbikes and electric bikes would have to use their daytime running lights during the day or, if their vehicles aren’t equipped with them, have the front and rear light on.

However, in a seminar collecting opinions from businesses organised by the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on Tuesday, the transport ministry said that the regulation would be taken out of the revised law after heavy public backlash who felt this might be not necessary in a tropical country suffused with sunlight like Việt Nam.

Trịnh Thi Thu Nga, head of the ministry’s legal department, said the regulation, which is based on the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, has been applied in several countries which have similar weather to Việt Nam.

According to traffic experts, with Việt Nam’s weather, turning on daytime lights of millions of motorbikes and electric bicycles was not appropriate.

Regarding the revision of the Law on Road Traffic, deputy Minister of Transport, Lê Đình Thọ, said the Law on Road Traffic which was promulgated in 2008 has created a legal framework for road traffic management and development.

Building a legal corridor for economic development was an important issue, said Thọ.

The Law on Road Traffic set traffic rules suitable with Việt Nam’s circumstances and met the demands of international integration, the deputy minister said.

The traffic rules were similar to those in developed countries, he said.

The revision aimed at keeping up with the development of transport infrastructure and the country’s reality for the next ten years.

“The revised law was planned to be submitted to the National Assembly in October for approval,” he said.

“At present, the revised law was made public for opinions of people and businesses,” he added.

The VCCI’s president Vũ Tiến Lộc said that over 10 years of implementation, the Law on Road Traffic proved an important legal basis which helped limit traffic accidents, promote transport infrastructure development, and improve people’s awareness of traffic safety.

At present, Việt Nam was facing shortcomings in road traffic with high transport fees and a high number of deaths in traffic accidents, said Lộc.

“The main reason was that many traffic regulations were not realistic, especially the development of technology, which has caused confusion for state management agencies,” the president said.

“The revised law needed to create a legal corridor for adjusting transport fees, enhancing road traffic and economic development, and pushing integration in the region,” he said.

In particular, the revised law should focus on the issues that concerned the business community such as classifying types and conditions of transport businesses, licensing smart traffic management, and managing national highways, Lộc added. ­— VNS