Effective from January 1, 2025, Decree 168 stipulates fines for running red lights ranging from VND18 to VND20 million for cars and VND4-6 million for motorcycles. Though the fines are hefty compared with the average income per capita, they are still supported by most people, who believe they are necessary to deter traffic violators.

However, many drivers have complained that they are sometimes unjustly punished. The problem is that traffic lights change from yellow to red too rapidly, leaving little time to stop and leading to penalties.

Nguyen Van Hai from Ba Dinh district in Hanoi said in many cases, traffic lights change from green to red immediately, with no yellow light. Hai fell into such a situation and he had to brake suddenly at a crossroads.

In this case, drivers have two options, either speed up (and run the red light). or brake hard (which may lead to an accident if a car is following closely),” Hai explained, adding that in both cases, drivers are likely to be fined.

At some intersections, the green light turns yellow before becoming red, but the time for yellow is too short for a reaction.

Khuong Kim Tao, former Deputy Chief of the National Traffic Safety Committee, said when drivers notice that the signal changing to yellow, they brake to stop.

“To ensure safe braking, a deceleration of 4 m/s is recommended. A higher rate may cause a too abrupt stop, risking the vehicle turning sideways and potentially being rear-ended. A lower rate will reduce the intersection’s capacity," Tao said. 

“Currently, speed limits for cars in adjacent residential areas are set at 50-60 km/h, and 70-80 km/h and 90 km/h outside these areas. Authorities should consider the specific speed limits of each road to determine reasonable yellow light durations at signalized intersections,” Tao suggested.

For instance, if the speed limit in intersection areas is 20 km/h, and the braking time is 2.48 seconds, the recommended yellow light duration should be fixed at three seconds.

In principle, the yellow light durations should exceed the braking time: 30 km/h - over 3.18s; 40 km/h - over 3.87s; 50 km/h - over 4.57s; 60 km/h - over 5.27s; 70 km/h - over 5.96s; 80 km/h - over 6.65s; 90 km/h - over 7.38s.

N. Huyen