Traffic fines will be doubled and
police will have greater powers to impound vehicles in a move to help keep
traffic order during Tet.

Traffic congestion on Ha Noi’s Truong Chinh Street. The city will impose stricter punishment and implement measures to minimise traffic congestion during the Tet holidays. (Photo: VNS)

Traffic-light and lane violations, overloading and drink-driving fines will be
VND400,000 ($20) instead of the current VND200,000.

Buses
and coaches will also be targeted to avoid traffic jams around Nuoc Ngam, My
Dinh and Gia Lam terminals caused by drivers searching for passengers and
stopping illegally.

Nguyen
Ha Song, a passenger from Nam Dinh Province, said, “I had to sit on the coach
for an hour to run around Ha Noi because the driver wanted to have more
passengers.”

Overloading buses would also be targeted.

Of great
concern were traffic jams which occur regularly in main streets such as Nguyen
Trai, Tay Son, Chua Boc, Kham Thien and Cat Linh.

Nguyen
The Tuan, a resident of Chua Boc Street, said, “In peak hours the roadway is
dense with vehicles and many motorbikes even run on the pavement.”

City
police had appointed 500 police academy students to help traffic police control
vehicles at cross-roads, police deputy director Tran Long Xuyen said.

City
authorities were also considering installing a temporary poonton connect Tu Liem
District’s Dong Ngac Commune with Dong Anh District’s Vong La Commune, Xuyen
said.

The
poonton would carry 6,000-10,000 vehicles a day to ease traffic jams on Thang
Long and Chuong Duong bridges, he said.

Meanwhile, long-distance coaches had asked to increase ticket prices by 60 per
cent, Ha Noi Coach Terminal Management Company director Nguyen Hoang Trung said.

They
included Sai Gon Transport Co-operative, the Dac Lac Transport Corporation and
the Cao Nguyen Transport Co-operative.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News