Hanoi, January 19 (VNA) - Police in the capital city have said they are considering electronic (and automatic) charging of traffic fines to offenders’ bank accounts. Police officers are mostly supportive of the idea, while others, including car drivers and authority figures, are not so impressed, urging careful study.
The novel idea was recently put forward by Brigadier Dao Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi municipal Department of Public Security, in a conference held last weekend announcing the transport sector’s activity plan for 2017.
Hai requested the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) to work on the proposal to submit to the Government for consideration.
According to this proposal, car owners would be required to open a bank account and a certain amount of money is to be deposited in that account. Should violations occur, by identifying car owners via images captured by traffic cameras, fines will be automatically debited from the offenders’ accounts.
Part of the reason for this proposal is, as Hai said, the police still face a number of difficulties in handling traffic violations, especially in cases of offenders whose car ownership certificates were not registered under their names.
Those who do not have proper ownership certificates for their vehicles will be forced to do so. Thus, law-enforcement and authorities will have an easier time managing cars.
More importantly, Hai is convinced that when an amount of money is reserved in bank accounts specifically for paying fines and the fines are automatically deducted; car owners will have no choice but to pay more attention and obey traffic laws, be it parking in designated zones or wearing seatbelts, or speeding. Two birds with one stone, Hai added.
Fully backing the measure, Colonel Nguyen Van Quy, former handler of traffic violations at the Traffic Police Unit No 1, said this will enhance drivers’ awareness to better follow the rules.
Better yet, Quy added that if the offenders happen to be working in State agencies, the automatic fine collection will prevent the higher-ups from being able to pull strings or exert their influence on police officers to get out of trouble.
This is something the public might appreciate, when all drivers are treated fairly, Major Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy head of the Road and Railway Traffic Police under the Hanoi Police, said in approval of the measure.
The novel idea was recently put forward by Brigadier Dao Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi municipal Department of Public Security, in a conference held last weekend announcing the transport sector’s activity plan for 2017.
Hai requested the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) to work on the proposal to submit to the Government for consideration.
According to this proposal, car owners would be required to open a bank account and a certain amount of money is to be deposited in that account. Should violations occur, by identifying car owners via images captured by traffic cameras, fines will be automatically debited from the offenders’ accounts.
Part of the reason for this proposal is, as Hai said, the police still face a number of difficulties in handling traffic violations, especially in cases of offenders whose car ownership certificates were not registered under their names.
Those who do not have proper ownership certificates for their vehicles will be forced to do so. Thus, law-enforcement and authorities will have an easier time managing cars.
More importantly, Hai is convinced that when an amount of money is reserved in bank accounts specifically for paying fines and the fines are automatically deducted; car owners will have no choice but to pay more attention and obey traffic laws, be it parking in designated zones or wearing seatbelts, or speeding. Two birds with one stone, Hai added.
Fully backing the measure, Colonel Nguyen Van Quy, former handler of traffic violations at the Traffic Police Unit No 1, said this will enhance drivers’ awareness to better follow the rules.
Better yet, Quy added that if the offenders happen to be working in State agencies, the automatic fine collection will prevent the higher-ups from being able to pull strings or exert their influence on police officers to get out of trouble.
This is something the public might appreciate, when all drivers are treated fairly, Major Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy head of the Road and Railway Traffic Police under the Hanoi Police, said in approval of the measure.
VNA/VPN
