Officers from Hanoi’s Traffic Police Department on the morning of March 16 stopped and inspected trucks carrying soil near Ha Tri Street and Gate 365 Market, on the border between Ha Dong and Kien Hung wards.
Police said the vehicles were transporting earth to a nearby construction waste dump but had dropped soil and mud along the route, polluting the streets and affecting the urban landscape.
Residents said the mud left on Quang Trung Street had made the road slippery, with one motorcyclist reportedly falling earlier in the day. Some locals placed warning objects on the road to alert passing traffic.
At about 9.30 am, officers stopped a truck driven by a 42 year-old man, after it was seen leaving mud and soil on the road while travelling from Quang Trung Street towards Ha Tri Street.
Police found soil stuck to the rear and cargo bed of the truck, which had not been properly covered or cleaned before entering the road. The driver was fined VND 3 million (about USD 114) for allowing construction materials or waste to spill onto the roadway.
Officers used body cameras to record the violations as evidence.
Traffic police have required construction site managers to ensure trucks leaving the site wash their wheels and cargo beds to prevent mud and debris from being carried onto public roads.
Environmental sanitation vehicles and workers were deployed the same morning to clean and wash affected sections of Ha Tri Street.
Lieutenant Colonel Ngo Xuan Quy, head of the patrol team, said authorities acted after reports that mud dropped by trucks had caused several accidents, adding police would continue tracing offending vehicles and take strict action against violations.
