Proposal to force drivers retake driving tests faces opposition
Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The's proposal to the National Assembly that drivers should retake their driving test if they literally lost their licences has faced opposition.
In late 2018, the Ministry of Transport tightened the regulations, stating that if the driver lost their licence for the first time and the licence expired for over three months, the driver must retake both tests. If they lost the licence twice, they must retake both tests no matter if the licence had already expired or not.
Former deputy head of the Department of Roads Nguyen Manh Hung, under the Ministry of Transport, said some people had pretended to lose their licenses and had already applied for new ones so they can still use other ones.
However, Hung said such cases were very rare so the ministry wasn’t interested in introducing problems based on such isolated cases. With developed technology, they can manage the issued licenses more easily. It would be due to incompetence and lack of co-operation among authorities if they let drivers make more than one licence.
"It's unreasonable to make the people suffer because the authorities can't do their work," he said.
Lawyer Bui Dinh Ung also opposed the regulation, saying that the ministry should have had a method to verify the claims made by drivers and losing licences didn't cause a surge in road accidents.
The authorities can apply stricter punishments to drivers who use expired licenses. For example, drivers who use expired licenses will be banned from driving for two or three years and must retake the tests.
"There is a code on the licenses and police can extract information from it. They will immediately know if the licence is expired or cancelled. The ministry can't blame the public because of weaknesses in the managing system," Ung said.
A driving test area
In late 2018, the Ministry of Transport tightened the regulations, stating that if the driver lost their licence for the first time and the licence expired for over three months, the driver must retake both tests. If they lost the licence twice, they must retake both tests no matter if the licence had already expired or not.
Former deputy head of the Department of Roads Nguyen Manh Hung, under the Ministry of Transport, said some people had pretended to lose their licenses and had already applied for new ones so they can still use other ones.
However, Hung said such cases were very rare so the ministry wasn’t interested in introducing problems based on such isolated cases. With developed technology, they can manage the issued licenses more easily. It would be due to incompetence and lack of co-operation among authorities if they let drivers make more than one licence.
"It's unreasonable to make the people suffer because the authorities can't do their work," he said.
Lawyer Bui Dinh Ung also opposed the regulation, saying that the ministry should have had a method to verify the claims made by drivers and losing licences didn't cause a surge in road accidents.
The authorities can apply stricter punishments to drivers who use expired licenses. For example, drivers who use expired licenses will be banned from driving for two or three years and must retake the tests.
"There is a code on the licenses and police can extract information from it. They will immediately know if the licence is expired or cancelled. The ministry can't blame the public because of weaknesses in the managing system," Ung said.
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