New regulatory requirements
Pursuant to Article 46 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024, regulations on ensuring road traffic order and safety for cars carrying preschool children and students, cars used for transporting children and preschool children must meet the following requirements:
Firstly, ensure that there is equipment to record images of preschool children and students and equipment with warning functions to prevent children from being left behind in vehicles; with a usage period of no more than 20 years; and with paint colors according to Government regulations.
Second, vehicles carrying preschool children or primary school students must have age-appropriate seat belts or use vehicles with age-appropriate seats as required by law.
Meanwhile, vehicles used for transportation combined with activities of picking up and dropping off preschool children and students must have equipment to record images of preschool children and students and equipment with warning functions to prevent children from being left behind in the vehicle, meeting the requirements specified in Point a, Clause 1, Article 35.
At the same time, when transporting preschool children, elementary school students must arrange at least 01 manager in each car to guide, monitor, maintain order and ensure safety for preschool children and elementary school students during the trip.
In case of vehicles with 29 seats or more (excluding the driver's seat), carrying 27 preschool children and primary school students or more, there must be at least 2 managers on each car. The manager and driver are responsible for checking preschool children and primary school students when getting off the car; preschool children and primary school students must not be left on the car when the manager and driver have left the car.
Drivers of cars transporting preschool children and students must have at least 02 years of experience driving passenger transport vehicles.
Educational institutions must develop procedures to ensure safety when transporting and picking up preschool children and students; instruct drivers and managers of preschool children and students to understand and properly implement the procedures; and be responsible for ensuring order and road traffic safety when transporting and picking up preschool children and students of that educational institution.
Vehicles transporting preschool children and students are given priority in organizing traffic flow, regulating traffic, arranging stops and parking in school areas and at points on the route to transport preschool children and students.
New driving license fines and points
For the act of using or driving a vehicle carrying preschool children or students without a device with a warning function to prevent children from being left in the vehicle, the new penalty is prescribed as follows:
Individuals and organizations that use commercial vehicles to transport preschool children and students, or commercial vehicles that combine transportation with activities of picking up and dropping off preschool children and students, may be fined from 4 to 6 million VND for individuals and from 8 to 12 million VND for organizations.
Drivers of commercial vehicles transporting preschool children and students, or commercial vehicles transporting children and students in combination with activities of picking up and dropping off preschool children and students can be fined from 3 to 5 million VND.
In addition, individuals and organizations that use or operate vehicles without warning devices to prevent children from being left behind in the vehicle will have their driving license points deducted. For individuals in the transportation business who directly drive vehicles used for transporting children in the vehicle, or vehicles used for transporting children in combination with activities of picking up and dropping off children in the vehicle without warning devices to prevent children from being left behind in the vehicle, 2 driving license points will be deducted.
For drivers of commercial vehicles transporting preschool children and students, commercial vehicles transporting combined with activities of picking up and dropping off preschool children and students without devices with functions to warn and prevent children from being left in the vehicle will also have 2 driving license points deducted.
