VietNamNet Bridge – The controversial punishment for failing to properly transfer vehicle ownership has been surprisingly dropped from the latest draft decree on road and railway violations.

Police conduct procedures to issue motorbike registration plates. The controversial punishment for failing to properly transfer vehicle ownership has been dropped from the latest draft decree on road and railway violations.

"In the latest draft of Decree 71, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) did not include the fine suggested previously following opposition from the majority of the public," said Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong.

In the previous draft, a fine of up to VND1.2 million (US$57) was proposed for motorbike drivers who do not have paperwork proving their vehicle ownership, with a VND10 million ($475) penalty for car drivers.

Nguyen Hoang Tung from the ministry's Traffic Safety Department is a member of the draft decree's editing board. He said one of the current obstacles was that the responsibilities of the transferor and transferee were not clearly defined.

He said that even though punishments would not be applied, residents should still make sure they have the necessary paperwork proving vehicle ownership in order to properly follow Civil Law.

However, director of the Ministry of Public Security's Road and Railway Traffic Police Department Nguyen Van Tuyen expressed his worry that the punishment could be left out of the decree.

At present, vehicle trading is becoming more and more complicated, with one vehicle being purchased by four or five owners. If no deterrent is applied, society can suffer disorder, he argued.

The new decree will also be without the proposed fine for drivers wearing substandard helmets.

Hoang Van Hien, a traffic police officer, said that this was a reasonable decision as it was not always possible to distinguish fake and real helmets.

"Those who don't wear helmet or wear helmets without fastening the chin strap would still be fined under the proposed regulations," he noted.

Nguyen Hoang Ninh, a resident in Ha Noi's Dong Da District, also agreed with the decision to remove the fine. "I think that helmet producers and market watchdogs should be held accountable for substandard products instead of consumers," he commented.

The draft regulation also proposes reduced penalties for over 20 different violations. For instance, a fine of VND8 million ($380) will be applied for drink driving instead of the current VND10 million ($470).

The draft decree also states that the maximum driving ban a person can receive is four months, as opposed to the previous lifetime ban.

A leader of the Department of Transport Safety said that high punishment was not the best solution to reduce traffic violations. He said more focus should instead be put on programmes to raise awareness.

Earlier the National Assembly People's Aspiration Committee sent MoT a report from citizens in eight provinces and cities including Ha Noi, in which they said that overly high punishment levels were unsuitable in rural areas

The latest draft decree is expected to be submitted to the Government by the end of this month.

Source: VNS