The Ministry of Transport has opposed the Public Security by not condoning new fines for individuals or organisations whose names are not officially registered on the vehicles they use.

A transport police is checking registration papers of a driver on National Road No.3. Photo by Baothainguyen

The Ministry of Transport has recently sought out public opinion on a draft decree for road and railway transport that would levy fines on users of vehicles that are not listed in the registration papers. The majority of feedback was against the fines.

The deputy head of the Traffic Safety Department, Le Minh Chau, said, “We continue to seek people’s opinions, but so far it is clear that public opinion is against new fines. I think that the regulation should not be included in the draft decree."

He went on to add that the final decision was up to the government.

The Ministry of Public Security is of a different mindset, however. Tran Son Ha, Deputy Head of Road and Railway Police Department said that the vehicle registration fines were based on regulations that have already been enacted, adding that people would naturally be opposed to strict fines. In his opinion the regulations should be enforced at least until July 1.

"The registration regulation benefits both authorities and people who wish to protect their assets," he said. According to Ha, it would be difficult for agencies to investigate cases involving vehicles that are not properly registered.

Ha emphasised that, if fines for traffic violations were not account-based fines would ultimately be paid by the vehicle owner, who may not necessarily be the driver guilty of violations.