According to statistics from the General Statistics Office, in the first 10 months of 2024, there were 19,513 traffic accidents nationwide, killing 8,990 people and injuring 14,505 people. Compared to the same period last year, the number of traffic accidents increased by 5.7%, the number of deaths decreased by 8.4% and the number of injuries increased by 13.9%.
In early 2024, many traffic accidents occurred due to the unstable health of drivers, leading to drowsiness, convulsions and death in the cockpit, suspected of being due to stroke,...
A typical example is the accident on March 21 on National Highway 1A, through Pho Thanh Ward (Duc Pho, Quang Ngai) due to the truck driver falling asleep, causing the vehicle to lose control and crash onto the median strip. Also in March (March 28), at Km 21, Road 12B, in Song Hamlet, Vinh Dong Commune (Kim Boi, Hoa Binh), a car accident occurred due to the driver falling asleep, causing the accident, resulting in 1 death. Previously, there were many similar incidents.
Speaking with Lao Dong, Lawyer Nguyen Van Phi - Deputy Director of Lawkey Law Firm said that according to the current regulations of the 2008 Road Traffic Law, the working time of a car driver must not exceed 10 hours/day and must not drive continuously for more than 4 hours.
However, the Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order 2024, effective from January 1, 2025, has added additional working hours per week for drivers of commercial and internal transport vehicles. In particular, the driving time of a car driver shall not exceed 10 hours/day and not exceed 48 hours/week; continuous driving shall not exceed 4 hours and shall comply with relevant provisions of the Labor Code.
If violating driving time regulations, drivers of commercial and internal transport vehicles will be fined from 3-5 million VND and have their driving licenses revoked for 1-3 months.
Vehicle owners who hand over vehicles or allow employees to drive vehicles beyond the prescribed time limit or work overtime will be fined from 8-12 million VND. These provisions apply to transport business units, internal transport units, and drivers of transport business vehicles as well as internal transport vehicles.
The Deputy Director of Lawkey Law Firm also said: "It is necessary to study and amend legal regulations in the direction of more strict and scientific control over the conditions of passenger car drivers.
In particular, focusing on health conditions for drivers, regular and unscheduled check-ups, as well as regulations on age limits for passenger car drivers in a reasonable and scientific manner.
Regarding this issue, according to Professor Tu Sy Sua - Senior Lecturer at the University of Transport, drivers must have adequate rest, especially for long-distance drivers.
"Regulations limiting working hours for drivers have been applied in many advanced countries and have brought about clear results. In the US, freight drivers are only allowed to drive for a maximum of 11 hours after a 10-hour break.
For drivers transporting passengers, they are only allowed to drive for a maximum of 10 hours after having taken 8 consecutive hours of rest. If they are found to have worked 60 hours a week, they will be forced to rest until they have accumulated enough rest time to continue driving.
During a random inspection, if the police or inspectors discover signs of irregularities in working hours, the driver will be forced to rest until he has accumulated enough rest hours to continue driving.
In case of repeated violations, the driver will be fined. In particular, the company hiring the driver may have its safety rating reduced. If the safety rating is not up to standard, the transport company will be forced to stop operating..." - Senior lecturer of the University of Transport informed.
To effectively implement the regulation on driving time limit, Dr. Khuong Kim Tao - former Deputy Chief of Office of National Traffic Safety Committee proposed that it is necessary to strengthen propaganda and education for drivers and vehicle owners about the awareness of law compliance.
In addition, focus on applying technology in monitoring working time. Build a strict internal management system to ensure that drivers are not forced to work beyond the allowed time. At the same time, take stricter measures to handle violations, and if necessary, consider criminal liability.
