No way, all stuck
While participating in traffic, being unreasonably blocked from traffic even though on a priority route is probably something many drivers often encounter.
This causes frustration for a large number of vehicle drivers and often causes local traffic jams.
Mr. NHT (born in 1983), a long-time driver, said that this often happens when exiting a roundabout, or at intersections that allow right turns.
"Recently, I participated in traffic at the new Thong Nhat roundabout in Vung Tau. I saw that, although I was exiting the roundabout and the vehicles entering had to give way according to regulations, in reality, many drivers did not give way but followed the vehicle in front even though they could not continue driving. This caused congestion at the roundabout," Mr. T. recounted.
According to Mr. T., because they were not allowed to give way out of the roundabout, many vehicles were forced to stop, leading to circular congestion, causing congestion for the vehicles that did not give way.
"If they yielded, it would have taken only about 1 minute for the vehicles in the roundabout to be quickly cleared, and they would have been able to move. But because they did not yield, it took everyone 5-10 minutes to get out of the roundabout," said Mr. T.
Obstructing traffic is a violation and may result in prosecution if it causes consequences.
According to lawyer Dang Thanh Tri (Dang Thanh Law Firm LLC - Bar Association of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province), obstructing or not giving way to vehicles on priority roads or main roads coming from any direction at an intersection is likely to result in administrative penalties.
Accordingly, the act of " not giving way to vehicles on priority roads or main roads coming from any direction at an intersection " will be fined from 800,000 to 1 million VND; if causing a traffic accident, the driver's license will be revoked for 2-4 months, according to the provisions of Point n, Clause 3; Point c, Clause 11, Article 5 of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 123/2021/ND-CP.
Thus, if a vehicle enters a roundabout and obstructs a vehicle exiting the roundabout as in the above case, if there is sufficient basis for verification, the authorities can consider imposing an administrative penalty.
"However, in reality, very few cases are punished because the authorities cannot monitor and grasp all of them to serve as a basis for handling. Therefore, vehicle drivers need to raise awareness, participate in civilized traffic, and follow regulations to limit causing congestion and unnecessary violations," said lawyer Tri.
In addition, depending on the severity of the behavior and the consequences caused, the vehicle driver may also be prosecuted for the crime of "violating regulations on road traffic participation" as prescribed in Article 260; or the crime of "obstructing road traffic" as prescribed in Article 261 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017.
