Add "offline fine" points to raise public awareness

Present at the To Hieu - Tran Nguyen Han intersection in Le Chan district, Hai Phong city on a morning in mid-January 2024, although there were quite a lot of vehicles, there were no signs of drivers violating traffic regulations such as encroaching on lanes, running red lights... like before.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Duong Viet Cuong, in Lach Tray ward, Ngo Quyen district, Hai Phong city, said that due to work, he often drives his car through the To Hieu - Tran Nguyen Han intersection. Previously, when he had urgent work and did not see any traffic police and the road was empty, he sometimes ran a red light.

Since Hai Phong City started piloting the installation of “cold fine” points, including the To Hieu - Tran Nguyen Han intersection, Mr. Cuong has always complied with traffic regulations when passing through here. Not only that, he also always complies with traffic regulations.

“Sometimes it is only a minute fast, but it is months, years, or even a lifetime late. Drivers who violate road traffic regulations not only face severe fines, vehicle and driver’s license confiscation, etc., but also run the risk of causing traffic accidents,” said Nguyen Duong Viet Cuong.

Policy - Hai Phong: Add — "Cold fine" point at the intersection of Pham Van Dong - Road 363 in Duong Kinh district, Hai Phong city (Photo: Thai Phan).

According to information from the People's Committee of Hai Phong City, in order to raise awareness of traffic participants and limit traffic accidents in areas with high traffic volume, the locality has piloted 5 intersections with "cold fine" cameras, including: Phan Dang Luu - Hoang Quoc Viet (Kien An District); Pham Van Dong - Road 363 (Duong Kinh District); Bui Vien - Vo Nguyen Giap (Le Chan District); To Hieu - Tran Nguyen Han (Le Chan District) and Nguyen Duc Canh - Tran Nguyen Han intersection (Le Chan District). The implementation of "cold fine" will start from May 1, 2023.

Previously, the locality assigned the Hai Phong City Police to coordinate with the City Department of Justice and related departments and branches to review and seek opinions from the Ministry of Public Security on the procedures for implementing "cold fines" according to regulations. At the same time, the organization received accounts to access the Viettel Hai Phong system to manage, exploit, and organize the implementation of "cold fines". The purchase of equipment and installation of the "cold fine" system was taken from socialized funding sources.

According to the report of the Traffic Safety Committee of Hai Phong City, after 8 months of piloting "cold fines" at 5 intersections, from May 1 to the end of December 2023, Hai Phong City authorities detected, recorded and sent notices to 4,221 violations. Of which, 1,031 cases were handled, with administrative fines of nearly 5.5 billion VND.

Previously, the locations in Hai Phong City where the “cold fine” system was installed were all busy locations with frequent traffic violations and potential traffic safety risks. Faced with this situation, the Hai Phong Traffic Police regularly deployed forces to regulate traffic and punish traffic violators. However, the situation has not improved much.

According to records, since the installation of the "cold fine" system, traffic violations at these points have been decreasing. Of which, in nearly 3 months, from May 1 to the end of July 2023, Hai Phong City authorities recorded nearly 1,800 violations. In the remaining 5 months, from June to the end of December 2023, more than 2,000 violations were detected.

To contribute to reducing traffic accidents as well as raising awareness of traffic participants, at the National Online Conference summarizing the work of ensuring traffic order and safety in 2023 and the direction and tasks for 2024, Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho - Vice Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee, informed that in 2024, Hai Phong City will deploy a series of measures. In particular, promoting the application of information technology, continuing to deploy more "cold fine" points to ensure objectivity, fairness and strong deterrence .

According to information from the Traffic Safety Committee of Hai Phong City, in 2023, there were 191 traffic accidents in Hai Phong, killing 98 people and injuring 136 people. Compared to 2022, the number of accidents increased by 126 (an increase of 193.85%), the number of deaths increased by 47 (92.16%) and the number of injuries increased by 114 (518.18%).

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