By applying proper traffic regulation mechanism, Hanoi should be able to mitigate its current congestion, one expert has said.

Driver traffic awareness dramatically improves in the presence of police officers 

Associate Prof cum Dr. Doan Minh Tam, Director of the Institute of Transport Science and Technology, said “Hanoi’s roads are still traversable and driver traffic awareness is not as poor as people think. The problem is the lack of a well-organised traffic management mechanism.”

Tam reached his conclusion at a meeting between municipal authorities and the institute to seek measures to mitigate traffic jams in the city centre on December 1.

According to Tam, poor traffic organisation is a major factor in chaotic traffic flows, due to a insufficient number of police and traffic lights.

“When we assign our staff to help regulate the traffic, congestion is considerably reduced and traffic awareness improves,” Tam noted.

He suggested that simple and effective measures to rapidly ease traffic jams would include additional police to regulate traffic, in addition to macro and time-consuming measures like amending office and school hours and banning private vehicles.

Many roads have yet to reach overload point and are still traversable during rush hours. Travelling in some places is much easier during off peak hours, he added.

Agreeing with Tam’s assessment, Nguyen Van Thuan, Director of the Ministry of Transport’s Transport Safety Department, stated that in addition to regularly operating traffic lights, at least one person should be assigned at a traffic bottleneck during rush hours.

“Apart from traffic police and traffic wardens, local police forces, night watchmen and young volunteers should participate in regulating traffic,” Thuan proposed.

However, Nguyen Xuan Tan, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Transport, said that they found it difficult to mobilise forces to help regulate the traffic during rush hours.

Tan highlighted 240 traffic bottlenecks from road belt No. 3 to the inner city. Of the total, only 142 locations were equipped with traffic lights, a problem compounded by a lack of traffic police and investigators.

“During rush hour, if the electricity goes out and traffic lights fail to operate at O Cho Dua intersection, we have to assign from six to seven traffic police to regulate the flows,” he said.

Tan proposed the institute study methods to reorganise traffic flows at some main traffic bottlenecks on Cau Giay, Kim Ma and Nguyen Chi Thanh Roads.