According to the Ministry of Construction, the dissolution is part of efforts to streamline the state apparatus under the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 18, while also aligning with the new legal framework on transport and traffic safety that took effect in 2025.

The ministry said the Law on Roads and the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety have clearly separated responsibilities between infrastructure and transport management and traffic safety enforcement. Together with specialised laws covering maritime, aviation, rail and inland waterways, the responsibilities of each ministry and sector have now been more specifically defined.

In this context, the inter-agency coordination model represented by the National Traffic Safety Committee was considered to have exposed several shortcomings, including overlapping functions, unclear division of responsibilities between ministries, agencies and local authorities, as well as limited coordination effectiveness due to part-time operations.

In addition, inspection and supervision work mainly remained at the level of urging and reminders, while resources for ensuring traffic safety continued to depend heavily on the state budget.

The National Traffic Safety Committee was established in 1997 and underwent several organisational restructurings over the years. During its operation, the body helped the Government coordinate inter-sector efforts, conduct public awareness campaigns, inspect violations and contribute to curbing traffic accidents.

However, according to the Ministry of Construction, dissolving the committee is necessary to ensure the principle that “one task should be assigned to one lead agency”, thereby avoiding overlapping responsibilities and improving the effectiveness of state management.

Under the new decision, ministries and agencies will take over the committee’s former duties according to their designated functions. The Ministry of Public Security will play the leading role in monitoring and compiling information related to traffic order and safety, traffic accident statistics and reporting to the Government and the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Construction noted that around 95% of traffic accidents currently occur in the road transport sector, making the decision to assign the Ministry of Public Security as the lead agency consistent with practical realities.

At the local level, chairpersons of provincial and municipal People’s Committees will oversee the dissolution of local traffic safety boards, while also arranging personnel, transferring records, assets and related duties to ensure management activities continue without disruption.

Vu Diep