VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City – Trung Luong highway was opened for public in February 2010. Since then the road has served around 61,000 cars/day on average. During this time, over 2000 cars had punctures.

Many drivers said that the rough surface of the highway is the reason for puncture. However, experts said that drivers used worn-out tires and their cars were overloaded.

“I changed tires over one month ago but my car still had a puncture on HCM City – Trung Luong highway. The rough layer on this road makes the temperature of tires high. If tires don’t have punctures, they are abrasive quickly,” said driver Nguyen Cao Cuong from Thu Duc district, HCM City.

However, an official from the Vietnam Vehicle Registration in HCM City confirmed that the rough layer on the highway does not cause incidents. There are many reasons causing punctures: worn-out tires, overload, running at high speed when tires are stretched, etc.

According to regulations on vehicle registration, tires must be used less than 80,000km, no scratch and the wear is from 1.6 to 2mm.

“Many truck drivers intentionally use tires of wrong sizes to be able to run overload. Many drivers paste rubber spines to worn-out tires,” the official said.

He said that with 61,000 cars running on HCM City – Trung Luong highway each day, 2,000 puncture cases for over one year is small.

Thai Van Chung, Secretary General of the HCM City Transportation Association, said that the quality of tires in Vietnam is not controlled strictly. Many tires are imported from China without being verified.

Chung confirmed that highways must have a rough layer to make friction. It is more dangerous if highways don’t have this rough layer. Drivers should not use worn-out tires and run at high speed.

“It is different to run on highway. If drivers are subjective and drive their cars based on their experience on normal roads, it is very dangerous,” Chung stressed.

PV