Ha Noi, day 05 month 09 year 2001

CIRCULAR No. 16/2001/TT-BGTVT OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 GUIDING A NUMBER OF POINTS REGARDING ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS AGAINST ACTS OF VIOLATING LAND-ROAD TRAFFIC ORDER AND SAFETY AND URBAN TRAFFIC ORDER AND SAFETY

Pursuant to the Government�s Decree No. 36/2001/ND-CP of July 10, 2001 on ensuring land-road traffic order and safety and urban traffic order and safety;

Pursuant to Article 21 of the Government�s Decree No. 39/2001/ND-CP of July 13, 2001 on administrative sanctions against acts of violating land-road traffic order and safety and urban traffic order and safety;

In order to help the land-road traffic inspection force perform their tasks according to the competence defined in Decree No. 39/2001/ND-CP and other relevant legal documents, which are uniformly applied throughout the country, the Ministry of Communications and Transport hereby guides a number of points as follows:

I. Violation acts against which the land-road traffic inspection force has the competence to impose sanctions as stipulated in Decree No. 39/2001/ND-CP:

1. In principle, the land-road traffic inspectors shall consider and handle only violation acts committed by people joining in traffic at static traffic places or points like car terminals, car-weighing stations, railway stations, ports or places where traffic means are parking or stopping as stipulated in Article 21 of Decree No. 39/2001/ND-CP of July 13, 2001. Land-road traffic inspectors must not stop land-road traffic means for examination, they shall stop land-road traffic means, which are being circulated, for examination or control only in cases where they detect that the violations may cause harms to traffic works, and must bear responsibility before law for their own decisions. All acts of abusing the tasks or powers of the land-road traffic inspectors to cause inconveniences or harassments to traffic means operators are strictly prohibited.

2. To guide a number of new regulations on sanctions against administrative violations stipulated in Decree No. 39/2001/ND-CP which fall under the competence of the land-road traffic inspectors as follows:

a/ For acts of violating the provisions of Article 9, the land-road traffic inspectors shall handle only operators of rudimentary vehicles, animal-drawn carts, people-drawn or �pushed carts transporting cumbersome commodities exceeding the prescribed limits; parking or stopping on roads or pavements not allowed for parking or stopping by law or at other static traffic points thus causing obstruction to traffic; loading or unloading commodities thus causing big noises from 10 p.m to 5 a.m; dropping transported materials or waste matters on traffic roads, not ensuring urban hygiene; or pushing a cart as mobile sale stand on roads in contravention of regulations thus causing obstruction to traffic.

b/ For acts of violating the provisions at Point b, Clause 2 of Article 13, the land-road traffic inspectors shall handle only the parking or stopping of cars in contravention of regulations such as parking cars outside the car terminals, taking and/or discharging passengers not at prescribed places; or parking or stopping at places, thereby causing harms to traffic works, or at places marked with no-parking or no-stop signs to obstruct the view, causing danger to other traffic means.

c/ For acts of violating the provisions at Point f, Clause 4 of Article 13, the land-road traffic inspectors shall handle them only when traffic control officers are land-road traffic personnel wearing badges and where the guidance for people and means joining in land-road traffic is required such as ferries, ports, railway stations, car terminals, car parks, places where traffic works are being repaired or constructed, or car-weighing stations.

d/ For acts of violating the provisions at Point k of Clause 4, Points c, d, e, Clause 5 of Article 13, the traffic inspectors shall examine and handle them only at places where cars park or stop on roads, car terminals, car-weighing stations, railway stations or ports. If acts of driving an automobile which is not registered or certified for region change according to law provisions are detected in the course of examination, the land-road traffic inspectors shall handle such acts and promptly notify the police offices thereof.

e/ For acts of violating the provisions at Points a and b, Clause 2 of Article 14, the land-road traffic inspectors shall also handle them only when cars are inside the car terminals or parking lots, or when cars are parking or stopping on roads.

f/ For acts of violating the provisions of Article 19, the traffic inspectors shall handle the acts stated in Clauses 2, 3, 5 and 6 which are related to the order and safety of people, traffic means and works. Particularly for Clause 1 of Article 19, the land-road traffic inspectors shall handle only violations committed at places where the land-road traffic personnel are tasked to guide traffic without the traffic police being on duty.

II. Implementation organization

The Ministry of Communications and Transport assigns Vietnam Land Road Administration and the provincial/municipal Communications and Transport Services and the Communications and Public Works Services to disseminate, guide and examine the land-road traffic inspection force in observing the provisions of this Circular and the previous documents which are related to the sanctioning competence of the land-road traffic inspectors.

This Circular takes effect after its signing. Any difficulties or problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported by agencies, units and individuals to the Ministry of Communications and Transport for consideration and settlement.