Chapter I.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of regulation
This Law prescribes road traffic rules; road infrastructure facilities, vehicles in traffic and road users, road transportation and state management of road traffic.
Article 2. Subjects of application
This Law applies to organizations and individuals related to road traffic on the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Article 3. Interpretation of terms
In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:
1. Roads include roads, land bridges, tunnels and ferry landing stages.
2. Road works include roads, standing and parking places on roads, traffic light signals, road signs, road markings, marker posts, fences, traffic islands, median strips, milestones, walls, embankments, water drainage systems, vehicle mass inspection stations, toll stations and other support road works and equipment.
3. Road infrastructure facilities include road works, car terminals, parking lots, roadside service stations and other support works along the roads to serve traffic, and road safety corridors.
4. Road land means a land area on which road works are constructed and land areas along both sides of a road for road work management, maintenance and protection.
5. Road safely corridor means land strips along both sides of the road land, measuring from the outer edge of the road land outwards, to ensure road traffic safety.
6. Carriageway means the part of a road used by vehicular traffic.
7. Lane means a divided longitudinal strip of the carriageway which is wide enough for safe vehicular traffic.
8. Size limit of road means a space with limited height and width of a road, bridge, ferry landing stage or road tunnel so that vehicles, including loaded cargo, can safely pass.
9. Street means a road inside an urban area, which includes road bed and pavement.
10. Median strip is a part of a road that divides the road surface for the two opposite directions of traffic or divides the road sections for motor vehicles and rudimentary vehicles. Median strips are classified into fixed and mobile types.
11. Level crossing (below referred to as intersection) means any crossroad between two or more roads on the same level, including the open area formed by such intersection.
12. Expressway mean a road reserved only for motor vehicles, with median strips separating carriageways for the two opposite directions of traffic, without crossing at level with any road, furnished with adequate support equipment and devices to ensure uninterrupted and safe traffic, shorten travel time, and with certain points for vehicle exits and entries.
13. Main road means a road ensuring major traffic in an area.
14. Feeder road means a road connected to a main road.
15. Priority road means a road vehicles moving on which are given way by those approaching from other directions when passing intersections, and which is signposted as priority road.
16. Collector road means a road that links the system of internal roads of an urban center, an industrial park, an economic zone, a trade-service center and other roads to a main road or a feeder road before connecting to a main road
17. Road vehicle means a road motor vehicle or a road rudimentary vehicle.
18. Road motor vehicle (below referred to as motor vehicle) means automobile; tractor; trailer or semi-trailer drawn by automobile or tractor; motorcycles, three-wheeled motor vehicle, moped (including electric moped) and the like.
19. Road rudimentary vehicle (below referred to as rudimentary vehicle) means bicycle (including motor bicycle), pedicab, vehicle for the disabled, animal-drawn cart and the like.
20. Special-use vehicle means construction vehicle, farm vehicle, forestry vehicle and other special-use vehicles used for defense and security purposes, which joins in road traffic.
21. Vehicle joining in road traffic means road vehicle or special-use vehicle.
22. Road user means operator or user of a vehicle joining in road traffic; person guiding or driving animals and pedestrian walking on the road.
23. Operator means operator of a motor vehicle, rudimentary vehicle or special-use vehicle joining in road traffic.
24. Driver means operator of a motor vehicle.
25. Person directing traffic means traffic police or person tasked to direct traffic at a place where road construction is underway, or traffic is congested, at a ferry landing stage and at a road bridge with a railroad track.
26. Passenger means person carried onboard a road passenger vehicle for which he/she has to pay a charge.
27. Luggage means articles a passenger carries along onboard a vehicle or consigned onboard another vehicle.
28. Cargo means machine, equipment, material, fuel, consumer goods, live animal and other movable property carried onboard a road vehicle.
29. Dangerous cargo means cargo containing a dangerous substance which, when carried by road, may cause harm to human life, health, the environment, safety and national security.
30. Road transportation means activities of using a road vehicle to carry people and cargoes by road.
31. Carrier means an organization or individual using a road vehicle to carry out road transportation activities.
32. Road administration agency means a specialized state management agency under the Ministry of Transport; specialized agencies of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities (below collectively referred to as provincial level), People’s Committees of districts, towns and provincial cities (below collectively referred to as district level) and People’s Committees of communes and townships (below collectively referred to as commune level).
Article 4. Road traffic principles
1. Road traffic must be uninterrupted, orderly, sale and effective, contributes to socio-economic development, defense and security assurance and environmental protection.
2. Road traffic shall be developed according to planning towards modernization and synchronism; transportation by road shall be combined with other modes of transportation.
3. Road traffic administration shall be implemented uniformly on the basis of assignment and decentralization of specific responsibilities and powers and close coordination among ministries, branches and local administrations at all levels.
4. Ensuring road traffic order and safety is the responsibility of agencies, organizations and individuals.
5. Road users shall self-consciously and strictly observe traffic rules and ensure safety for themselves and others. Vehicle owners and operators shall take responsibility before law for ensuring that their vehicles operate safely in road traffic.
6. All acts of violating the road traffic law shall be detected and prevented in time and handled in a strict and lawful manner.
Article 5. Policies on road traffic development
1. The State concentrates resources on developing road traffic, prioritizing investment in developing road traffic infrastructure facilities in key economic regions, cities, mountainous, deep-lying, remote, border, island and ethnic minority regions; and adopts policies to mobilize resources for road administration and maintenance.
2. The State adopts the policy of prioritizing the development of mass transit and restricting the use of personal vehicles in cities.
3. The State encourages and creates conditions for Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals to invest in and commercially operate road infrastructure facilities and road transportation activities, and conduct research, apply scientific and technological advances and train human resources in the field of road traffic.
Article 6. Road traffic and transportation planning
1. The road traffic and transport planning is a specialized planning, including planning on infrastructure and planning on means of transport and road transportation.
2. The road traffic and transportation planning shall be formulated on the basis of the socio-economic development strategy, defense and security assurance and international integration, and in conformity with the sector’s planning and close association with other specialized transport plannings.
3. Each road traffic and transportation planning shall be elaborated for at least 10 years, setting development orientations for at least 10 subsequent years; and may be adjusted to take into account the socio-economic development in each period. Such adjustment must perpetuate the previous approved plannings.
An approved road traffic and transportation planning shall be publicized for concerned agencies, organizations and individuals to know, implement and supervise its implementation.
4. The road traffic and transportation planning must clearly identify development objectives, viewpoints, nature and scope; land use needs, funding needs, funding sources and human resources, and lists of projects and priority projects; evaluate its impacts; and identify mechanisms, policies and solutions for its implementation.
5. The Ministry of Transport shall formulate national, inter-regional and regional road traffic and transportation plannings and plannings on national highways and expressways, collect opinions of concerned ministries, ministerial-level agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees on these plannings before submitting them to the Prime Minister for approval.
6. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall formulate and submit to the People’s Councils of the same level for decision plannings on road traffic and transportation under local management. Before submitting them to the People’s Councils of the same level for decision, they shall obtain opinions of the Ministry of Transport.
For centrally run cities of special grade, their People’s Committees shall formulate road traffic and transportation plannings and submit them to the People’s Councils of the same level for adoption and obtain opinions of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Construction before submitting them to the Prime Minister for approval.
7. Plannings on other technical infrastructure works must be compliant and synchronous with plannings on road infrastructure facilities.
8. The State ensures state budget funds and adopts policies to mobilize other funding sources for road traffic and transportation planning work.
Article 7. Road traffic law propagation, dissemination and education
1. Information and propaganda agencies shall regularly organize road traffic law propagation and dissemination among the entire population.
2. People’s Committees at all levels shall, within the scope of their tasks and powers, organize road traffic law propaganda, dissemination and education in their localities and apply forms of propaganda and dissemination suitable to ethnic minority people.
3. Education and training state management agencies shall include the road traffic law in the teaching programs at schools and other educational establishments as suitable to each branch and each level of education.
4. Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations shall coordinate with concerned agencies and local administrations in propagating and mobilizing the people to observe the road traffic law.
5. Agencies and organizations shall organize road traffic law propagation and dissemination among officials, soldiers, civil servants, public employees and other laborers under their management.
Family members shall propagate, educate and remind other members to observe the road traffic law.
Article 8. Prohibited acts
1. Destroying roads, road bridges, tunnels and ferry landing stages, light signals, marker posts, signs, dome mirrors, median strips, water drainage systems and other works and equipment of road traffic infrastructure.
2. Illegally digging, drilling and cutting roads; illegally placing or erecting hurdles on roads; placing and spreading pointed objects, pouring lubricants on roads; illegally leaving materials, wastes and garbage on roads; illegally opening passages and linking to main roads; illegally encroaching, occupying or using land of roads and road safety corridors; opening manhole covers without permission, illegally dismantling, removing or falsifying road works.
3. Illegally using roadbeds, roadsides and pavements.
4. Putting motor vehicles and special-use machines which fail to satisfy technical safety and environmental protection criteria into operation on roads.
5. Changing the chassis, components and accessories of motor vehicles in order to temporarily achieve their technical criteria before taking them for inspection.
6. Taking part in, cheering or organizing illegal vehicle races, driving vehicles recklessly on crowded streets or in zigzags.
7. Operating a road motor vehicle while there is narcotic in the operator’s body.
8. Operating an automobile, tractor or special-use vehicle on the road while there is a concentration of alcohol in the operator’s blood or breath.
Operating a motorcycle or moped while there is a concentration of alcohol of over 50 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood or 0.25 milligrams per 1 litter of breathed air.
9. Operating a motor vehicle without a driver license as prescribed.
Operating a special-use vehicle on the road without a certificate of training in knowledge about the road traffic law, a license or certificate of operation of special-use vehicle.
10. Assigning one’s motor vehicle or special-use vehicle to another person ineligible for operating vehicles in road traffic.
11. Operating a motor vehicle at a speed beyond the prescribed speed limit, recklessly passing or overtaking.
12. Honking and opening the throttle continuously; honking during the time from 22:00 hrs to 05:00 hrs, blowing the hoot, using driving lamps in urban and populous areas, except for priority vehicles moving on duty as provided for by this Law.
13. Fitting and using the horn and lamps at variance with the manufacturer design for each type of motor vehicles; using audible devices badly affecting traffic order and safety and public order.
14. Transporting goods banned from circulation, illegally transporting, or failing to fully observe regulations on transportation of, dangerous cargoes or wild animals.
15. Threatening, offending and fighting over passengers; compelling passengers to use services against their will; employing transshipment, disembarking passengers or committing other acts to evade detection of the carriage of cargoes or passengers in excess of prescribed limits.
16. Conducting commercial transportation by car when failing to meet all business conditions as prescribed.
17. Absconding after causing accidents in order to shirk responsibility.
18. Deliberately refusing to rescue victims of traffic accidents when having conditions to do so.
19. Infringing upon the lives, health and property of traffic accident victims and causers.
20. Taking advantage of traffic accidents to assault, intimidate, incite, pressure, foment disorder or obstruct the handling of traffic accidents.
21. Abusing one’s position, power or profession to breach the road traffic law.
22. Illegally manufacturing, using or buying or selling number plates of motor vehicles and special-use vehicles.
23. Acts of breaching road traffic rules and other acts endangering road users and vehicles in road traffic.
Tìm kiếm
Luật Giao thông đường bộ 2008 (Bản Word)
Luật Giao thông đường bộ 2008 (Bản Pdf)