Overloaded trucks still causing chaos on Hanoi's streets

Overloaded trucks in Hanoi are flouting regulations by using banned streets or during banned hours.

Heavy truck in Hanoi

Dozens of heavy trucks run on Pham Hung Street, Cau Giay District, at around 3 pm on September 25. They did not slow down much and kept honking inside the city. There are signs that those trucks have been modified and were overloaded. Many of them are from transportation companies like Anh Duc, The Manh and Cuong Linh.

Despite the banned traffic signs and regulations about operating hours and weights, the trucks still run inside the city without being dealt with.

Nguyen Thi May, a resident on Pham Hung Street, said, "Heavy trucks have become common around here. Their honking gives me a headache. They used to run after 9 pm but now I see them on the street all the time."

Many trucks run during banned hours

The residents on Me Tri Street, Nam Tu Liem District, are also in the same situation. Heavy trucks run inside the city not only causes pollution but also poses a threat to other drivers.

Colonel Tran Ngoc Trung, deputy head of the Traffic Police Team 6 said their personnel were spread too thin to deal with all violations.

"Some drivers were aggressive when they were pulled over. Some couldn't provide driving licenses and locked themselves in the cabin for hours," he said.

The police dealt with 94 cases since early September

Since early September, the police have dealt with 94 cases. 38 of which ran during banned hours, 11 ran on banned streets, 39 were overloaded and six trucks weren't secured enough and let construction materials fall onto the streets.

Trung said many police departments such as the traffic department, inspectorate and local guards must work together to completely deal with this problem.