Directive No. 12/CT-TTg on Strengthening the Implementation of Urgent Measures to Prevent Severe Traffic Accidents in Transport Operations

DIRECTIVE

ON STRENGTHENING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF URGENT MEASURES TO PREVENT SEVERE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN TRANSPORT ACTIVITIES

In the first five months of 2013, despite many efforts and active implementation of measures to ensure traffic safety and order by ministries, sectors, and localities, the situation of traffic accidents remains very complicated, especially in transport activities. Although the number of traffic accidents and injured persons has decreased, the number of fatalities has increased significantly. Recently, there have been several particularly severe traffic accidents caused by fixed-route passenger buses and cargo trucks. The main cause is that drivers and transport businesses violate traffic safety regulations; state management of transport activities is lax; the effectiveness of patrol and inspection work to handle violations is limited.

To promptly prevent severe traffic accidents in transport activities, strictly and effectively implement Directive No. 18-CT/TW dated September 4, 2012 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on strengthening the leadership of the Party over traffic safety and order on roads, railways, inland waterways, and resolutions of the Government and the Prime Minister, I instruct:

1. The Ministry of Transport:

a) Promptly review, amend, and supplement regulatory legal documents to strictly re-examine conditions for operating road transport services with motor vehicles, training, examination, and issuance of driver's licenses; supplement provisions on technical safety conditions and service life of fixed-route passenger transport vehicles; plan and publicly announce the national network of inter-provincial passenger transport routes; thoroughly address loopholes in regulatory legal documents that lead to corruption in state management of transport, vehicle technical inspections, and training, examination, and issuance of driver's licenses.

b) Strengthen inspection and supervision of transport management, training, examination, issuance of driver's licenses, and technical inspections of road motor vehicles; strictly handle according to the law those business establishments operating transport services that fail to implement registered business plans and cause severe traffic accidents; those training and examination centers issuing driver's licenses that do not meet prescribed conditions.

c) Direct and coordinate with localities to integrate data from vehicle journey recorders to manage, detect, warn, and handle according to the law violations related to speed, route, and continuous driving time for drivers and transport business establishments.

d) Direct the Vietnam Highway Administration and provincial Departments of Transport to require project investors and contractors to promptly inspect and review traffic safety assurance for operational road projects; organize traffic safety assurance during construction, strictly handle and suspend contractors who fail to comply with traffic safety regulations and cause severe traffic accidents at ongoing projects; review and supplement traffic signs and signals; install rigid median barriers where conditions permit; supplement rescue routes at dangerous sections such as steep slopes and sharp curves; accelerate the construction of systems for checking truck weights, organize regular and spot checks on truck weights, focusing initially on key national highways; strengthen measures to ensure traffic safety at railway crossings.

đ) Direct the strengthening of measures to ensure waterway traffic safety during the rainy season, especially for ferry boats and tourist vessels.

e) Direct the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority to strengthen air operation management, inspect, identify, and strictly handle violations related to aviation safety and security, aircraft technical safety, prevent incidents and safety risks.

2. The Ministry of Public Security:

a) Direct public security agencies at all levels to mobilize maximum forces, equipment, and means, intensify mobile patrols, focus on handling drivers violating high-risk offenses such as speeding, improper lane changes, illegal overtaking, alcohol concentration violations, overloading, and exceeding the number of passengers allowed.

b) Direct investigations to clarify the causes of particularly severe traffic accidents, initiate prosecutions to promptly bring typical violators in the field of traffic safety and order to trial.

3. The National Traffic Safety Committee, Ministry of Information and Communications, central mass organizations, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam Radio, Vietnam News Agency, and other media outlets should intensify publicity and legal education on traffic safety and order through mass media; the Vietnam Road Transport Association should promote and disseminate traffic rules and transport business regulations to transport business establishments and drivers.

4. Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Transport, Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees under the Central Government shall coordinate and direct competent agencies to conduct administrative inspections, check, and strictly handle units and officials of state management agencies responsible for ensuring traffic safety and order who violate regulations while performing their duties; suspend positions for investigation in cases showing signs of protection, facilitation, and tolerance for transport business establishments, inspection units, training centers, drivers' examination centers, bus stations, and drivers who violate transport business conditions and traffic safety regulations.

5. Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees under the Central Government:

a) Direct comprehensive inspections of all passenger transport business establishments operating fixed-route services with motor vehicles, container cargo transport, bus stations, training and examination centers for driver's licenses, and technical inspection centers within their jurisdictions; prioritize inspections of establishments related to recent severe traffic accidents; suspend operations of establishments deliberately violating prescribed operational conditions causing severe traffic accidents.

b) Direct the police force to cooperate with traffic inspectors to strengthen inspection and supervision work, strictly handle violations of traffic order and safety on their respective territories.

c) Direct the intensification of legal education and propaganda on traffic order and safety down to residential areas and individual households.

d) Require transport businesses to organize regular and spot health checks for drivers and apply necessary measures, primarily for fixed-route bus drivers, taxi drivers, container transport drivers; identify and remove from the workforce drivers who use narcotics, alcohol while operating vehicles; strictly implement technical safety plans for registered transport vehicles.

6. The Ministers of relevant ministries and sectors, and the Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall be responsible for directing and organizing the implementation of this Directive, and regularly report monthly results to the National Traffic Safety Committee for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.