Directive No. 398/BVN on issuing special circulation permits and inspecting vehicles with excessive loads on public roads.

DIRECTIVE

Regarding the issuance of special circulation permits and inspection of vehicles with large loads exceeding the limits of bridges and roads

circulating on public roads To implement the Traffic Works Protection Ordinance issued pursuant to Decree No. 38/L-CTN of the President on December 10, 1994, and the Road Traffic Order and Urban Traffic Order accompanying Decree No. 36/CP dated September 25, 1995 of the Government.

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In order to concretize Point 4, Article 26 of the Traffic Works Ordinance, Point 1, Article 5 of Decree No. 36/CP, and Point 1-6-c of Circular No. 239/TT-PC dated September 30, 1995 of the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry will announce load capacity decisions for vehicles circulating on national highways that are suitable for the carrying capacity of bridges and roads along each route.

To effectively manage vehicle loads on roads according to Decree No. 36/CP, Circular No. 239/TT-PC, and load capacity announcements, while also rectifying the issuance of special circulation permits to avoid arbitrariness or violations of Point 1-4 of Circular No. 239/TT-PC, as well as correcting the handling of violations on the road to enhance preventive effects, prevent any violations from slipping through, and ensure consistent and accurate handling nationwide.

The Minister of Transport instructs the Director of Vietnam Highway Administration, Directors of Transportation Departments, Urban Transportation Departments; General Managers of Highway Management Zones to organize the implementation of the following tasks:

1. Strengthen measures strictly prohibiting vehicles when circulating on public roads from carrying loads exceeding the design load specified in their circulation permit, and at the same time, when vehicles travel on any road, they must comply with the load capacity announced for that road's bridge and road carrying capacity. If the load capacity has not been announced for a particular road, compliance with the load limit sign placed on the road must be followed.

2. Vehicles circulating on roads shall be considered to exceed the permitted load capacity of bridges and roads if they violate any of the following situations:

2.1. The vehicle violates Point 1-6-b of Circular No. 239/TT-PC.

2.2. The vehicle's total weight of vehicle plus cargo or axle load exceeds the load capacity conditions stipulated in the load capacity announcement for that route.

2.3. The vehicle's total weight including vehicle plus cargo or axle load exceeds one of the values indicated on the sign: Limit of vehicle weight, limit of axle weight for roads without load capacity announcements.

3. In cases where vehicles have a need to carry indivisible cargo exceeding the permitted load capacity of bridges and roads or when vehicles circulating on roads have dimensions exceeding the permissible size, they must apply to the competent highway management authority for a special circulation permit and guidance on the appropriate route. The issuance of special circulation permits must follow the provisions of Points 1-4, 1-6-c, and Point 2 of Circular No. 239/TT-PC. Permits issued beyond authority will be revoked, and the issuer will bear responsibility.

4. Based on the content of the load capacity announcement made by the Ministry of Transport, when inspecting the load capacity of vehicles traveling on roads, both conditions of load capacity, namely the total weight of vehicle plus cargo and axle load, must be taken into account, and the vehicle must not exceed these load capacity conditions. For single-axle MAZ vehicles or other vehicles with similar technical specifications, if they participate in road circulation and the permitted total weight of vehicle plus cargo according to the bridge and road carrying capacity equals or exceeds 13 tons, then during load inspections, only the total weight needs to be checked; if it does not exceed 13 tons, it will be considered as not exceeding the bridge and road load capacity.

5. Based on the content of the load capacity announcements, direct managing units of bridges and roads need to repaint and supplement signs, especially bridge works must have sufficient signs: Vehicle Load, Axle Load, minimum distance between vehicles (at least equal to the length of one span). Additionally, depending on specific bridges, there may be additional guiding signs such as: Width Limit, Height Limit, Speed Limit for vehicles crossing the bridge... During the period before the completion of the implementation of sign adjustments, when checking overloaded vehicles, two load capacity conditions recorded in the load capacity announcement must be referenced. In case of bridge and road accidents requiring reduced load capacity, in addition to the permitted load capacity sign, there should be barriers for traffic diversion and traffic guidance organization. At the same time, measures to restore and repair to meet the announced load capacity must be implemented and reported to the higher-level highway management authority.

6. For overweight and overdimensional vehicle inspection stations, when performing weighing tasks, in addition to the above guidelines, they must also comply with the guidelines on weighing forms, penalties, and weighing errors as stipulated in documents No. 1065/ATGT dated September 11, 1996, and No. 2555/AT-ĐB dated September 5, 1996 of the Ministry of Transport.

The Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Highway Administration organize coordination with relevant sectors to guide and inspect implementation to ensure the safety of road works and road traffic safety.

Request the Director of Vietnam Highway Administration, Directors of Transportation Departments, Urban Transportation Departments, General Managers of Highway Management Zones, Heads of related highway agencies to strictly implement this directive. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry for research and resolution.

Request the Director of the Vietnam Highway Administration, the Directors of Departments of Transportation and Construction, the General Managers of Highway Management Zones, and the Heads of relevant road agencies to strictly implement this Directive. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported promptly to the Ministry for study and resolution.