Violating vehicles may not be kept as a basis for compensation for damages

Lawyer Nguyen Thi Thuy, YouMe Law Firm LLC replied:

Article 10 of Circular No. 72/2024/TT-BCA regulating the investigation and settlement process of road traffic accidents by traffic police (effective from January 1, 2025) stipulates the temporary detention and handling of vehicles, objects, documents, licenses, and practice certificates of vehicle operators involved in road traffic accidents for investigation, verification, and settlement as follows:

1. The temporary detention of vehicles, objects, documents, licenses, and practice certificates of vehicle drivers involved in road traffic accidents shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 125 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2012 (amended and supplemented in 2020) and other relevant regulations.

In cases where documents related to people and means of transport have been integrated into the electronic identification card, the electronic identification account on the national identification application when temporarily holding the documents, the traffic police will temporarily hold the documents in the electronic environment.

2. Before extending the period of temporary detention of vehicles, objects, documents, licenses, and practice certificates of vehicle drivers, officers assigned to investigate, verify, and resolve road traffic accidents must report and propose extending the period of temporary detention according to Form No. 10/TNDB issued with this Circular.

3. The handling of vehicles, objects, documents, licenses, and practice certificates of vehicle drivers involved in road traffic accidents shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 126 of the 2012 Law on Handling of Administrative Violations (amended and supplemented in 2020) and other relevant regulations.

4. After the vehicle inspection is completed and it is determined that the driver is not at fault and has not violated any other provisions of law, the vehicle must be immediately returned to the owner or driver. It is strictly forbidden to keep the vehicle of the parties involved in the traffic accident as a basis for settling compensation for damages.

Thus, from 2025, traffic police are not allowed to detain vehicles of parties involved in traffic accidents as a basis for settling compensation for damages according to the above regulations.