At a recent meeting with transport firms, organized by the Traffic Police Department, Vu Duc Hoang, Director of Hoang Long Transport, suggested restricting sleeper buses to reduce accidents. Passenger buses should be banned from running between 2.30 - 5.30 am.

Hai Ha (Giap Bat bus station, Hanoi) supports the ban, citing statistics that in the past six months, five major accidents involving passenger buses resulted in 26 deaths and 46 injuries, with four incidents involving sleeper buses, mostly at night. 

"If accidents often occur between 2:30 - 5:30 am, why not ban travel at that time?" Ha noted.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Hai Thanh (Cau Giay) argued that banning buses departing at 2 am could disrupt essential needs like medical travel. 

"Nighttime roads are usually clear,” he said, adding that accidents happen because drivers don’t rest enough and drive all day and night.

Nguyen Van Quyen, Chair of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, acknowledged that accidents often occur at night, particularly near dawn.

"The reason is that nighttime driving involves more complex situations and higher risks than daytime. Some drivers fail to follow traffic rules when overtaking or avoiding vehicles, or they don’t switch from high beams to low beams as required, blinding oncoming drivers—a common cause of losing control and accidents.

“Additionally, nighttime driving disrupts drivers’ biological rhythms, making them more fatigued and drowsy than during the day. Poor road conditions, like missing emergency lanes or unclear lane markings, also heighten risks," Quyen said.

However, Quyen opposed a ban on night or early morning operations, arguing that accidents stem from inadequate rest and lack of focus, issues not exclusive to bus drivers but also affecting truck and car drivers. "The problem lies in management, monitoring, and compliance," he stated.

Pham Viet Cuong, Director of the Center for Policy Research and Injury Prevention (University of Public Health), said the proposal merits consideration but shouldn’t lead to an absolute ban. Instead, he advocated for mandatory rest regulations.

"In fact, train drivers and airplane pilots also operate at night. The key is whether they’ve rested sufficiently beforehand. For instance, if a driver works at night, do they rest during the day? Current regulations prohibit driving for more than four consecutive hours, and this needs stricter enforcement at night," Cuong explained.

Cuong noted that long-distance nighttime driving increases drowsiness due to disrupted biological rhythms. Drivers should rest 5-10 minutes every 1.5-2 hours to avoid cumulative fatigue. 

"Timely breaks help maintain alertness and better reflexes, especially on highways," he added.

The Ministry of Justice has recently announced the review of some provisions of 10 laws related to security and order, compiled by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), including the Road Traffic Order and Safety Law, effective January 1, 2025.

According to MPS, Clause 2, Article 35 of the law limits transport drivers to 10 hours daily and 48 hours weekly, with no more than four consecutive hours of driving.

The Ministry proposes revising this to remove the fixed 10-hour daily and 48-hour weekly limits. The total time of driving vehicles within one day and one week must be set in accordance with the Labor Code. However, the regulation on four-hour consecutive driving cap will be kept unchanged. 

This stems from proposals by the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association and businesses, who argue the current limits are impractical compared to regional standards, complicating driver scheduling.

Nguyen Van Quyen, Chair of the Association, said that the association had previously sent many documents proposing to adjust this regulation because it was "very difficult to implement" when drivers are only allowed to drive a maximum of 48 hours per week.

After the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety took effect (January 1, 2025), many businesses reported a shortage of long-distance drivers. According to regulations, businesses must add more workers to meet the requirement that drivers cannot drive continuously for more than 4 hours, no more than 10 hours/day and 48 hours/week.

Meanwhile, statistics show that with current traffic infrastructure conditions, the total actual driving hours are about 60 - 65 hours/week for short-haul transport (under 300 km) and over 65 hours/week for long-haul transport (over 300 km).

Compared to the regulation of 48 hours/week, the number of working hours of drivers has decreased by about 20-30 percent for short-haul transport and over 30 percent for long-haul transport. This causes the drivers' income to decrease accordingly.

Vu Diep