DECREE

ON AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF DECREE No. 36-CP OF MAY 29, 1995 OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;
At the proposals of the Minister of Communication and Transport and the Minister of Justice,

DECREES:

Article 1.- To amend and/or supplement a number of articles of Decree No. 36-CP of May 29, 1995 of the Government on ensuring traffic order and safety on roads and in urban centers, as follows:

1. Clauses 2, 4 and 5, Article 5, are amended as follows:

"2. Setting the technical standards, organizing the inspection and supervision of technical quality of land-road motorized communication means, and periodically issuing certificates of expertise control of technical safety and environmental protection.

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5. Organizing, directing and inspecting the specialized communication and transport inspection system throughout the country. Handling according to its competence administrative violations against the traffic order and safety on roads and in urban centers."

2. Clause 3, Article 6, is amended as follows:

"3. Coordinating with the concerned ministries and branches in compiling documents and propagating, disseminating and guiding the legislation on traffic order and safety."

Article 2.- To amend and/or supplement a number of articles of the "Regulation on traffic order and safety on roads and in urban centers" issued together with Decree 36-CP of May 29, 1995 of the Government as follows:

1. To add Clause 4 to Article 1:

"4. Drivers and owners of means shall bear responsibility before law for their means while joining in traffic."

2. Clause 2, Article 2, is amended as follows:

"2. Means joining in traffic include motorized or rudimentary vehicles and specialized equipment moving on land roads and urban streets."

3. Clause 3, Article 3, is amended as follows:

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4. Clause 7, Article 3, is amended as follows:

"7. The People's Committee of the locality where the accident takes place shall have to organize the rescue of and give first aid to the accident victim(s) or help them, protect the accident site and promptly report it to the traffic police so that the latter may come to make a record and settle the consequences thereof. In cases where the victim is dead, after the police completes the procedures as prescribed by law and permits the burial, the local People's Committee shall have to organize the burial of the victim."

5. Clause 1, Article 6, is amended as follows:

"1. When a person joining in traffic detects any sign of a land-road traffic project that may threaten the traffic safety, he/she shall have to put up a temporary warning thereof and seek all ways and means to report it to the nearest land-road traffic control unit or the nearest State agency; all State agencies, upon receiving the report, shall have to promptly inform the land-road traffic control agency for timely solution."

6. Point 1, Article 13, is amended as follows:

"1. For motorized vehicles (including trailers):

a) Having effective brake system (both foot and hand brakes) as prescribed.

b) Having adequate headlights (for near and far lighting), number plate light, brake light, and signaling lights of various kinds up to the prescribed standards.

c) Having horns with the standard sound volume.

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e) In order to give the driver a clear view, the windscreen must be transparent, with rearview mirrors and wipers.

f) Having an effective steering system.

g) Having tires of the required size and up to technical standards and pneumatic pressure as prescribed for each type of vehicles.

h) The passenger cars' window glass must be safe one."

7. Clause 2, Article 18 is amended as follows:

"2. The head of an establishment for technical expertise control of vehicles and those who personally conduct the technical expertise control shall bear responsibility before law for the results of the expertise control."

8. To add Clauses 3 and 4 to Article 20 as follows:

"3. The signaling lights, horns or pennants, and paint colors of the priority land-road motorized means are prescribed as follows:

a) Fire engines: coated with red paint, and with a red revolving light on top.

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c) Police vehicles: with a red-green revolving light on top, and the police pennant stuck on the vehicle's head and the driver's left.

d) Military vehicles: with the military pennant stuck on the vehicle's head and the driver's right.

The horn sound volume of each type of the above-said vehicles shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

4. Non-priority land-road motorized vehicles are banned from using priority horns and lights stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article."

9. Clause 3, Article 21 is amended as follows:

"3. Passenger vehicles are banned from transporting together with passengers toxic, explosive, inflammable or other dangerous substances, smelly animals or things, or any substances that may affect the health of the passengers."

10. Clause 1, Article 25, is amended as follows:

"1. In cases of necessity, a permission from the provincial/municipal Communication and Transport Service (Communication and Public Work Service) is required."

11. Clause 1, Article 26, is amended as follows:

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Motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles are banned from loading freight that stick out 0.3 meter each side from the width of the carrier, exceed 2 meters from the ground or stick out 0.5 meter behind from the carrier; particularly, compressed gas cylinders, when being carried by motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles, must be firmly tied to ensure the safety."

12. Point c, Article 29, is amended as follows:

" c) Those who do not have enough the following prescribed papers:

- The vehicle registration certificate

- The driving license (for drivers of vehicles that require driving license)

- The certificate of expertise control of technical safety and environmental protection (for types of vehicles that require such certificate)."

13. Article 30 is amended as follows:

" Article 30.- In cases where a driving license is lost or damaged and there exist enough evidences proving that such license is actually lost or damaged, neither forfeited nor temporarily suspended, the driver shall be considered for being granted a new one."

14. Point a, Article 37, is amended and supplemented as follows:

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A vehicle shall be allowed to overtake another one in front only when:

- There is no obstacle in front;

- There is no vehicle coming from the opposite direction;

- The vehicle in front gives no signal that it intends to overtake another vehicle;

- The driver must make a signal with horn or light for the overtaking. Only when the vehicle in front keeps to the right and gives a signal allowing the overtaking can the driver behind overtake the vehicle in front on its left side."

15. In Article 38, only the following point is amended (the other ones of this Article shall remain unchanged):

"The vehicle which is descending a slope must give way to the one climbing it."

16. Point k, Article 39, is amended as follows:

"k) When his/her vehicle breaks down or drops its freight to the road thus affecting traffic, the driver must try by all means to keep his/her vehicle close to the right of the road and remove all the freight that has been dropped."

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"a) The following vehicles shall have the priority to go before other vehicles when they come to a cross-roads in the following order:

1. Fire engines on the way to extinguish a fire.

2. Military vehicles, police vehicles on an urgent mission.

3. Ambulances carrying or on the way to take patients to emergency stations.

4. Dike protection vehicles, vehicles assigned the emergency tasks of storm and flood combat.

5. A motorcade led by police motorcycles.

6. Vehicles to keep traffic uninterrupted in emergency cases.

7. A funeral procession."

18. Point b, Article 44, is amended as follows:

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19. To add Point i to Article 45 as follows:

"i) For a vehicle towing a trailer, the total tonnage of the vehicle must be higher than that of the trailer, and the trailer must have an effective brake system."

20. Clause 1, Article 52, is amended as follows:

"1. Vehicles of all types must keep to the prescribed lanes and/or routes. In cases where they need to enter restricted areas or roads for special reasons, they must obtain permission therefor from the Police Department of the province or city directly under the Central Government."

21. Article 56 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 56.-

1. All bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles are banned from zigzagging on the roads causing danger to other road users.

2. Racing without permission from the Director of the Police Department of the province or city directly under the Central Government is banned.

3. All bicycle, moped or motorcycle riders are banned from using umbrellas, sunshades and mobile phones.

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22. Article 57 is amended as follows:

"Article 57.- Cyclists must observe the following regulations:

1. Not to ride in the areas and on the roads where a "no cycling" sign is put up;

2. When riding bicycles on roads: They are forbidden to take both hands off the handlebars or pull another bicycle along, must not race or overtake other vehicles recklessly, or act in any dangerous way; they must not ride 3 abreast or turn left or right in front of a motorized vehicle;

3. They can pause or stop only when they are close to the road side of the pavement or at places where they are required to stop; they must not pause or stop at places where they may obstruct the traffic;

4. Each cyclist is allowed to carry only one pillion person and one under-seven-year-old child (carried in an adult's arms or sitting on a separate saddle) or two adults, provided that one of them cannot sit alone due to poor health;

5. The cyclists and the pillion persons must neither carry cumbersome things, pull things, nor lead animals along;

6. Children under 12 years of age are not allowed to ride bicycles on wheels of 650 mm or more in diameter;

7. A cyclist must not cling to another vehicle (another bicycle);

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Article 3.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing. The previous stipulations which are contrary to this Decree are now annulled.

Article 4.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall, within their respective functions and tasks, have to guide and organize the implementation of this Decree. The presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall base themselves on the situation and characteristics of their respective localities and their respective competence to elaborate regulations and plans for implementation of this Decree.

Article 5.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

THE GOVERNMENT




Phan Van Khai