There are nine common bad habits that traffic police should avoid in order not to be hated by the public, a survey shows.

The survey was conducted by a team of four led by Associate Professor Huynh Van Son, a psychologist and deputy chairman of Vietnam Psychological Association.

Assoc Prof. Son said they made the survey by observing on-duty traffic police at check-points in districts 3, 7, 12 and Nha Be district in Ho Chi Minh City and interviewing police officers, management officials, and civilians.  

The psychologist showed the nine habits at a communication skills training class intended for traffic police force in HCMC where Son was invited as the main speaker.

The class organized by HCMC Road and Railway Police Department in late October aims at helping traffic officers keep appropriate manners when in contact with the public to improve their image.

Following are the 9 bad habits of traffic cops:

1. Don’t care about the age of people they are talking to

2. We have power, so it is not necessary to care about people’s feeling

3. Use informal, derogatory pronouns for first and second persons when talking with the public like “mày” and “tao”

4. Often say: a violation is a violation, no need to explain

5. We are the law. So, if you violate the law, you have wronged me

6. Indulge in red tape, show frustration at the public

7. Procrastinating and bureaucratic behaviors

8. Think and behave in a wrong way: It’s ok that we [police] drive fast because we are on duty.

9. That’s what we say and we are not able to correct it