13 cases required speed reduction when driving in Vietnam (Proposal)

The Ministry of Transport of Vietnam is drafting a Circular regulating the speed and safe distance of motor vehicles and specialized motor vehicles participating in road traffic (hereinafter referred to as the Draft Circular). In this draft, the Ministry proposes new cases that require speed reduction when participating in road traffic.

It is expected that this Draft Circular will replace Circular 31/2019/TT-BGTVT if it is officially promulgated from January 1, 2025.

Refer to the Draft Circular in the attached file.

13 cases required speed reduction when driving in Vietnam (Proposal)

According to Article 5 of the Draft Circular, the Ministry of Transport proposes 13 cases in which the driver of a vehicle participating in road traffic must observe, reduce speed, or stop to ensure safety, including:

(1) At places with pedestrian crossings or other signals for pedestrians or where pedestrians or wheelchairs of disabled persons are crossing the road;

(2) When there are warning signals of danger or obstacles on the road;

(3) When changing the direction of the vehicle or when the view is obstructed;

(4) At intersections with other roads or railways; narrow roads, winding roads, curved roads, mountain passes, and slopes;

(5) At narrow bridges, culverts, fords, tunnels, or underpasses;

(6) In areas with schools, hospitals, bus stations, public works, densely populated areas, markets, roads under construction, or sites of road traffic accidents;

(7) When animals are on the road or grazing near the road;

(8) When avoiding oncoming vehicles or when allowing a vehicle behind to overtake; when responding to emergency signals from the vehicle ahead in the same direction;

(9) At bus stops or places where passengers are boarding or alighting from vehicles;

(10) When encountering oversized, overweight, or hazardous goods vehicles; pedestrian convoys;

(11) When encountering priority vehicles;

(12) During rainy, windy, foggy, smoky, dusty conditions, or on slippery roads, muddy roads, roads with many rocks or scattered materials affecting road traffic safety;

(13) In areas where road traffic control is being conducted.

Safe distance between two vehicles when driving in Vietnam (proposal)

According to Article 11 of the Draft Circular, the regulations on the safe distance between two vehicles participating in road traffic are proposed as follows:

- When driving a vehicle on the road, the driver or operator of a special-use motorcycle must maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front; where there is a "Minimum distance between two vehicles" sign, the distance must not be less than the value indicated on the sign.

- The safe distance between two vehicles when participating in road traffic:

+ Under dry road conditions, the safe distance corresponding to each speed is stipulated as follows:

When driving at a speed below 60 km/h, the driver must actively maintain a suitable safe distance from the vehicle in front, depending on the density of vehicles and actual traffic conditions to ensure safety.

+ In conditions of rain, fog, slippery road surfaces, winding roads, mountain passes, limited visibility, the driver must adjust the safe distance to be greater than the value indicated on the sign or the value stipulated in point a Clause 2 Article 11 of the Draft Circular.

Maximum allowable speed for motor vehicles in densely populated areas in Vietnam (proposal)

According to Article 6 of the Draft Circular, the maximum allowable speed for motor vehicles in densely populated areas (excluding highways and elevated roads without level crossings) is proposed as follows:

In cases where roads in densely populated areas have favorable conditions to ensure road traffic safety (such as elevated roads without level crossings or urban roads separated by a hard median), the road management authority shall organize an assessment and if safety is ensured, report to the Road Management Authority to decide on a higher maximum speed limit than the above and implement corresponding speed limit signals.

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