According to Lao Dong on many central streets of Hanoi, stopping vehicles over the road line at intersections is quite common, especially for motorbikes.
Vehicles stopping at red lights over the line often encroach on the space in the pedestrian section. Many people wanted to jostle up and cross the line, causing traffic chaos at intersections and crossroads.
When asked, many drivers said that if they stop waiting too long, they should only be fined for "not complying with the road markings", with a fine of 400,000 - 600,000 VND for cars, 200,000 - 400,000 VND for motorbikes and 150,000 - 250,000 VND for pedestrians.
However, according to a representative of the Traffic Police Department (Ministry of Public Security), the situation of waiting at a cross-line is determined to be equivalent to a failure to comply with traffic light signals.
Accordingly, the Law on Road Traffic Safety 2024 stipulates that when running a yellow light, vehicles must stop before the stop line, in case they are traveling on the stop line or have passed the stop line but the yellow light signal is allowed to continue. Red light signals are prohibited.
Thus, when coming to the intersection, the driver if not to the line but seeing the yellow light or the red light must stop in front of the line. If the driver put the wheelchair on the line, or through the line "does not stop in front of the line", which means not complying with the lamp's command.
For example, if a car driver does not comply with traffic light signals, he will be fined from 18 to 20 million VND; if a motorbike driver is fined from 4 to 6 million VND. This is accompanied by a deduction of 4 points on the driver's license.
The representative of the Traffic Police Department also pointed out errors related to road markings that are only used for cases such as cross-line markings, line cross-line/broken lines dividing lanes, directional lines...
In the case of the line to stop in front of the traffic light, it is necessary to understand that the line here is as meaningful as a nail, overcoming is not complying with the light.
The authorities recommend that when driving near the intersection, drivers should reduce speed and focus on observing traffic lights, ensure absolute compliance with traffic lights or competent traffic commanders, and avoid being run over the line.
Expressing his views on this issue, Mr. Le Van Nam (29 years old, Thanh Xuan district) said that the problem of vehicles participating in traffic crossing red light stops is mostly intentional, not unintentional.
According to Mr. Nam, the two acts have different levels of danger, and different fines are required to avoid danger in traffic. However, in cases of stopping over the line due to objective reasons, that is, when crossing the line, the light is still green, because for some objective reason, when the light turns red, this behavior must be accepted and not punished.
"I think law enforcement needs to have evidence of intentionality or accidentalness to not punish or punish this offense with a suitable penalty for this behavior" - Mr. Nam said.
Some other opinions say that in reality, many traffic participants lack awareness, deliberately taking their vehicles up and taking positions on the entire line or crossing the line so that when there is a green light, they have an advantage to go ahead of others.
"This behavior should not be considered running a red light because running a red light is a vehicle that has entered a location that hinders vehicles moving under a blue light. The fine should be different because the risk of causing unsafety is different" - Mr. Nguyen Huy Hung (34 years old, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) said.
