Saturday, May 21, 2011

20% of vehicles in Vietnam unsafe

Vi�t Nam News/Asia News Network
Sat, May 21, 2011

HANOI — About one fifth of motor vehicles across Viet Nam were deemed unsafe, according to a Viet Nam Register report.

During the first round inspections, which covered 148,000 cars, buses, trucks and motorbikes, around 26,300 vehicles (a 15 per cent increase on last year), were found not to meet national standards for technical safety and environmental protection, most faults relating to brake and exhaust fume systems.

"Vehicles, all below 15 tonnes, were inspected at random by two mobile inspection units installed in containers set on large trucks," said Nguyen Huu Tri, head of the Viet Nam Register's Motor Vehicle Technical Safety Inspection Department.

During the first three months of this year, the Viet Nam Register inspected more than 400,000 motor vehicles, 81.5 per cent of which met safety standards. Almost one in five failed.

Substandard vehicle owners were fined VND2-6 million (US$95-290) and forced to improve safety.

Mai Quang Thang, owner of a seven-seat car, said that although his car had not been inspected, he had it checked regularly every six months to ensure it adhered to safety standards.

The Viet Nam Register inspected an additional 5,072 imported cars and 1,886 imported motorbikes. Inspections are set to continue on below 15 tonne vehicles traveling on routes between Ha Noi-Vinh, HCM City-Vung Tau and HCM City-Can Tho.

Viet Nam currently has around 4 million motor vehicle plying, an increase of 12-14 per cent annually, according to statistics from the Ministry of Transport. — VNS

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