VCCI: Regulations on installing cameras on cars are costing trillions of dong.

Arguing that the regulation requiring transport vehicles to install cameras is costly for businesses and ineffective, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has requested the Ministry of Transport to reconsider the regulation.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has recently submitted comments to the Ministry of Transport on the draft Decree amending regulations related to road transport management, driver training, and testing services. One of the notable points is the proposal to require the installation of surveillance cameras on transport vehicles.

According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), from July 1, 2021, passenger cars with a capacity of 9 seats or more (including the driver's seat), containerized cargo transport vehicles, and tractor-trailer trucks must install surveillance cameras. Prior to this, a survey of over 100 businesses involved in passenger transport (9 seats or more) and cargo transport – those directly affected – revealed that the requirement places a significant financial burden on businesses. "This regulation has a particularly strong impact on businesses that have just started operating, i.e., those with less than 5 years of operation," VCCI stated.

To comply with the regulation, a vehicle may incur costs of approximately 17 million VND; including 5.8 million VND for camera installation; 1.2 million VND for data transmission; 5 million VND for camera disposal; and 5 million VND for camera removal (if a camera was already present but incompatible with the regulation's transmission requirements).

According to estimates by the Vietnam Road Administration, before July 2021, approximately 200,000 passenger buses and tractor-trailers were subject to the requirement of installing surveillance cameras. Thus, the estimated cost for camera installation alone is 1,160 billion VND; the monthly data transmission cost is 240 billion VND.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) assesses that the management objective behind this regulation is to monitor and warn drivers of violations, ensuring traffic safety. However, upon analyzing each objective, the results may not meet expectations. For example, although recorded images serve as evidence for handling violations, monitoring still has certain limitations because the transmitted data is static images, not dynamic ones. Therefore, in some cases, it may not accurately reflect the driver's behavior.

Cameras can also provide evidence to address violations by passengers on vehicles. However, there are no comprehensive statistics on high-risk vehicle violations that would warrant government surveillance. Furthermore, cameras do not have the function of monitoring vehicle load limits or routes, and current regulations already provide other tools for management.

Regarding legal aspects, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) assesses that this regulation is not clear enough for businesses to accurately determine the number and types of cameras that must be installed on vehicles. Another issue raised is that the images of passengers, which fall under the right to privacy, are not adequately protected. This is a crucial issue that countries around the world are concerned about when regulating the installation of cameras on passenger transport vehicles.

The implementing units have submitted a report stating, "The new camera image data processing system is still in the testing phase. The departments are currently monitoring and extracting data from the transport units' software, which makes management difficult."

According to VCCI, this shows that since its implementation, the camera-based management tool has encountered many difficulties and has been ineffective. Therefore, VCCI proposes that the Ministry of Transport conduct a comprehensive reassessment.

Duc Minh

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