Directive No. 21/1998/CT-TTg on ceasing arbitrary stopping of vehicles for inspection and control

 DIRECTIVE

ON STOPPING THE ARBITRARY HALTING OF VEHICLES FOR INSPECTION AND CONTROL

Recently, traffic patrol and control work on road and inland waterway routes has made progress, contributing to reducing traffic accidents. The situation of "blocking rivers and markets" has been basically eliminated, reducing many inconveniences for people's travel and goods transportation. However, at some localities and on certain routes, there are still many forces arbitrarily halting vehicles for inspection and control, affecting goods transportation and normal travel of the people. In many cases, some individuals have taken advantage of this to cause harassment, commit acts violating the law, causing dissatisfaction among the people, and damaging the reputation of traffic police and inspection forces.

To correct this situation, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. Traffic police forces must enhance their responsibility to serve the people, perform their functions and tasks well, strictly comply with legal regulations and work rules and procedures when performing duties, ensuring smooth and safe traffic:

- Coordinate with road and inland waterway management agencies to clearly define and install signs at places where parking and stopping of vehicles are prohibited. Vehicles should not be fined for stopping to pick up or drop off passengers or load or unload goods at places without prohibitive signs and without obstructing traffic.

- Announce widely so that the public knows the locations of traffic inspection stations for easy contact in case of traffic accidents or incidents related to traffic safety.

- Must implement the lawful provisions regarding the halting of road and inland waterway vehicles for inspection and control. Vehicles in circulation may not be arbitrarily halted for administrative inspection of documents and goods unless they have committed a violation of the law.

- Strengthen supervision over the patrol and control activities of traffic police officers, especially mobile patrols and controls. Measures must be taken to prevent and strictly deal with any harassment or negative behavior during inspections and controls. Timely and appropriate commendation and rewards should be given to diligent, exemplary, and honest officers while performing their duties.

2. Traffic inspectors may only stop vehicles at weighbridges, railway stations, ports, ferry terminals, bus stations, and loading areas to check for overloading and oversized loads according to their assigned functions, tasks, and powers. Halting circulating road and inland waterway vehicles for inspection and control can only be carried out if clear violations that could harm traffic infrastructure are detected, and they must bear full legal responsibility for their decisions. Any abuse of duties and powers by traffic inspectors to cause inconvenience or harassment to vehicle drivers is strictly prohibited.

3. Forest rangers may only stop vehicles if there is sufficient evidence that illegal forest products are concealed within them for forest product inspection. When stopping a vehicle, they must use flags, warning signs, horns, and lights, and must bear full legal responsibility for their decisions.

4. Market Management Forces, Tax Authorities, and Customs, upon discovering vehicles carrying smuggled goods, shall directly contact the nearest traffic police officer on duty to request the traffic police to halt the vehicle for inspection and control, and they must bear full legal responsibility for requesting the vehicle to be stopped.

5. Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities need to take measures to direct and supervise the implementation of eliminating fixed inter-departmental domestic inspection stations and arbitrary mobile inspection stations on traffic routes, and to install signs at places where parking and stopping of vehicles are prohibited within their jurisdiction.

6. Ministries, levels, all strata of the people, and mass media need to promptly report to competent authorities about organizations and individuals taking advantage of vehicle inspections and controls to harass and engage in negative behavior. Upon receiving information about organizations and individuals exploiting vehicle stops for harassment and negative behavior, competent authorities must immediately take effective measures to prevent and strictly handle violators.

7. This directive takes effect fifteen days from the date of signing. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies, and Chairmen of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees must, within their respective functions and tasks, take responsibility for directing, guiding, and strictly implementing the above regulations. The Minister of Home Affairs will monitor and regularly report to the Prime Minister on the implementation of this Directive.