VietNamNet Bridge – The Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security has considered proposing a demerit point system to tackle driving offences.

A traffic police officer deals with a traffic violator in a stretch of the National Highway 1A, running through the northern province of Ninh Binh. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Duc

The proposal would entail each driver holding a certain number of points on their driving licence, with the points managed on a data system and points subtracted after driving offences are committed.

When half of the points are gone, drivers might lose their licence if violations are repeated, said Colonel Do Thanh Binh, deputy head of the Traffic Police Department.

According to the department, to implement the system, data on driving licences should be made synchronous nationwide.

Penalties for poor driving are said to be not strict enough

Current laws impose administrative punishments or revoke driving licence in a certain period for driver’s offences. However, these laws are reported to not be strict enough, resulting in repeated violations.

Drivers even did not go to police headquarters to take their revoked licences back when the penalty period is over. In 2015 and 2016, there were nearly 37,400 motorbike and car licences whose owners refused to return them, according to the Traffic Police Department.

Binh said the penalty point system has been applied in many countries. Offences related to speeding and drink driving incur the highest penalties.

The penalty point system will help raise driver’s awareness of following traffic laws and reduce accidents, he said.

Driver Cao Van Tuan in Hanoi told Nông Thôn Ngày Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper he was worried about the efficiency of the system.

“Will the system help reduce offences or will there be other problems arising?” he asked.

Lawyer Vu Thai Ha, president of Youme Law Firm said it is more necessary to deal with corruption and bribery in traffic law implementation and step up dissemination to raise people’s awareness of following the laws rather than changing penalties.

On the other side, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Quy, Hanoi’s former traffic officer, said subtracting points from a driving licence is a good idea.

“We have to make amendments to current Traffic Law and law on administrative punishment to effectively implement the system,” he said.

Colonel Tran Son, former deputy head of law enforcement implementation, traffic accident investigation department said that along with data system of driving licence, cameras should be installed at key traffic areas and highways to help police penalise violating drivers.

Experts should learn from international experience and collect public feedback on point levels to be subtracted in relevance with the level of offences, he said.

Source: VNS