Of course, it is difficult to take responsibility for the "no one does it", not to mention how long the act of drying straw and rice on the road has existed.
But things will have to change.
In early November, the case of a woman in Ninh Binh being prosecuted for blocking a road to dry rice above, causing the death of a motorcyclist, shocked the public nationwide. That heartbreaking story is not only a " Accident", but the result of negligence, disregard for the law and human life.
According to the police, Ms. V.T.M (residing in Yen Khanh commune, Ninh Binh province) used bricks, stones and concrete to block the road to dry rice. That night, a woman riding a motorbike crashed into the obstacle and died on the spot. Ms. M. was prosecuted for the crime of Obstruction of road traffic under Article 261 of the Penal Code - a crime with a penalty of up to 3 years in prison.
The seemingly far-fetched numbers in the law suddenly became haunting when associated with the exchange of a piece of rice - the labor result of farmers - for human life. But more painfully, this is not an isolated case. Every harvest season, from the Red River Delta to the Central region, it is easy to see people taking advantage of village roads, national highways, and even highways to dry rice and straw. To "protect" the rice fields, they brazenly blocked the road, placed bricks, planted trees, and erected signs "no vehicles allowed to pass".
And when the incident happened, the familiar answer was still: No place to dry, Its been done for a long time.
However, "no place to dry" cannot be an excuse to occupy traffic roads, places designed for traffic, not to let agricultural products dry in the sun.
Vietnamese law has very clear regulations: Article 261 of the Penal Code states that the act of placing obstacles or drying agricultural products on the road that causes traffic obstruction can be punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years; if killing many people, the sentence can be up to 10 years. According to Decree 100/2019/ND-CP, drying straws, drying rice, dumping construction materials and waste onto the road can be subject to an administrative fine of 2 to 4 million VND, forcing the road surface to be cleaned and restored to its original state.
It is worth mentioning that these regulations are not new, but the situation of drying agricultural products on the road is still happening everywhere, showing the lax management of the grassroots government and lack of awareness of a part of the people.
Therefore, local authorities must be responsible for inspecting, reminding and promptly sanctioning administrative violations. Self-management teams and commune police need to be assigned the task of supervising the drying of agricultural products on the road, especially during the harvest season.
In addition, it is necessary to mobilize cooperatives and hamlets to arrange centralized dried fields, taking advantage of public land, cultural house yards, stadiums or village communal house yards. Where there are no, it is necessary to support the construction of a common drying yard model, both ensuring safety and protecting the labor performance of the people.
More importantly, we must change our awareness: a piece of cake cannot be exchanged for a life. Many people think "it's a pity, who would go to the night", but just a moment of carelessness can turn a gentle farmer into a defendant in front of a horse's den.
The case in Ninh Binh is a valuable lesson. It shows the dangers of disregard for the law, and reminds us that roads are not a dry land. Just like wearing a helmet when riding a motorbike, not drying agricultural products on the road needs to become a safe culture in rural communities.
Because traffic safety is not only in the awareness of drivers, but begins with each small act of each citizen.
