A draft regulation by the Ministry of Public Security suggested that the names of traffic safety violators should be made public through media outlets as an added deterrent.
An accident in HCM City’s District 4 on December 13
The fourth draft of a circular amending and supplementing the ministry’s Circular 38 was written up by the General Police Department for Administrative Management for Social Order and Safety.
The regulation suggests that police in cities and provinces across the country, as well as the Department of Road and Railway Traffic Police make weekly lists of violators of traffic safety rules and send in emails to media agencies for publication in local newspapers, radio and television stations.
Those who resist arrest or cause traffic accidents while drunk would have their names, addresses and their places of work or study publicly exposed.
The board admitted that the draft regulation has stirred up some controversies because the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations’ Article 72 has yet to mention specific violations of traffic safety laws.
Dr. Le Hong Son, Director of the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Examination of Legal Normative Documents said, “The Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, which took effect beginning from July 1, has set a foundation, and that any further regulations should be in accordance with it. Attention should also be paid to clarifying the reasons the National Assembly passed the law without mentioning specific traffic safety violations."
Tran The Quan, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Legislation, countered by saying that Resolution 32 was drafted in 2007 and Decree 34 in 2010, and both stipulated that names of violators of the traffic safety law be sent to media agencies.
“Even though this is just a draft regulation, the Ministry of Public Security considers it an effective deterrent to violating traffic safety regulations,” Quan noted.
Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Vice Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, also agreed with the regulation, saying that current fines are not effective enough.