Can Traffic Police Stop Vehicles for Inspection Without Any Violation?

According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 12 Circular 01/2016/TT-BCA, traffic police have the right to request vehicle stops to inspect documents if they directly observe or through professional technical means detect and record traffic law violations.

Additionally, in certain circumstances, even without detecting traffic safety violations, traffic police are still authorized to stop vehicles for document inspections, such as:

- Implementing orders or patrol plans of the Director of the Department of Traffic Police or the Provincial Police Director or higher;- Implementing patrol, control, and violation handling plans by the Head of the Highway Patrol Department under the Department of Traffic Police, the Head of the Traffic Police Department, or the District Police Chief;- Having a written request from the Head or Deputy Head of the investigative agency; written requests from relevant functional agencies to stop vehicles for control to serve the tasks of ensuring security, order, crime prevention, and handling other legal violations. The written request must specify the time, route, stopped vehicles for control, and participating coordination forces;- Reports or denunciations of legal violations by traffic participants.

Thus, it is observed that the law permits traffic police to stop vehicles for document inspections even when no violation is present, and vehicle operators must present documents when ordered by the traffic police for inspection. Proving driver violations is relevant when the traffic police enforce penalties for traffic violations.

In such cases, if the vehicle operator fails to present vehicle documents such as a Driving License, Vehicle Registration... they will be correspondingly fined:

- A fine ranging from VND 80,000 to VND 120,000 if:

- Operators of motorcycles, mopeds, motorcycle-like vehicles, and moped-like vehicles do not have or do not carry valid Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance;- Operators of motorcycles, mopeds, motorcycle-like vehicles, and moped-like vehicles do not carry Vehicle Registration;- Operators of motorcycles and motorcycle-like vehicles do not carry a Driving License, except for violations specified at Point b, Clause 5, Point c, Clause 7, Article 21 of Decree 46/2016/ND-CP.

- A fine ranging from VND 200,000 to VND 400,000 if:

- Operators of cars, tractors, and car-like vehicles do not carry a Driving License, except for violations specified at Point c, Clause 7, Article 21 of Decree 46;- Operators of cars, tractors, and car-like vehicles do not carry Vehicle Registration;- Operators of cars, tractors, and car-like vehicles do not carry a Certificate of Technical Safety and Environmental Protection Inspection (for vehicles requiring inspection).

- Nguyen Trinh -

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