Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has released a draft circular on the reduction of maximum speed limits along roads and expressways in a bid to minimize traffic accidents.

Expected to replace the current Circular No. 95, the document calls for the maximum speed limit of oversized vehicles, including heavy trucks and passenger buses with more than 30 seats, to be reduced from 60 to 50km per hour.

On expressways and roads that allow speed limits of over 100km per hour, passenger buses with over 30 seats, double-decker coaches, tractor-trailers, tank trucks, and mixer trucks will be limited to traveling at 100km per hour or less.

The transport ministry is collecting feedback on the provisional regulations.

During an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Nguyen Van Can, a coach driver from Ho Chi Minh City with over 30 years of experience, expressed his support for the draft circular, though he did say the new regulation should include room for flexibility. 

“Most trucks and passenger buses travel between 11:00 pm and 4:00 am. Limiting their speed at 50km per hour during that time would be unreasonable,” he suggested.

The 100km per hour limit for these vehicles along expressways is appropriate to ensure traffic safety, he added.

Meanwhile, Ha Xuan Quynh, a company director in the northern province of Bac Giang, stressed that not only vehicles that violate maximum speed but also those that do not comply with minimum speed limits should be sternly penalized.

Le Van Tien, president of a transport association in the northern city of Hai Phong, also backed the draft circular, asserting that the increase in yearly road accidents is an indicator of the need for change. 

Although the speed limit will lengthen journey times, it will help minimize serious accidents, especially in densely populated areas, Tien elaborated.

According to Colonel Tran Son, a former official of the traffic police division under the Ministry of Public Security, traffic infrastructure has been improved and upgraded across the country, allowing vehicles to travel at higher speed, thus contributing to socio-economic development.

However, competent authorities should consider the real-world implications before imposing maximum speed limits, Col. Son continued.

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