Vo Van Kiet Street HCMC: Truck Ban Hours & Rules Explained

Recently, the issue of trucks traveling on Vo Van Kiet Street in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and related questions about truck ban hours have garnered significant attention from transportation businesses and drivers. Especially after a series of investigations into the “making deals” situation for trucks running during restricted hours, the question of whether Vo Van Kiet Street has truck ban hours has become even more pressing. This article, compiled by experts from Xe Tai My Dinh, will provide the most detailed and accurate information about truck ban regulations on this crucial route, based on sources from Phap Luat TP.HCM and direct interviews with Mr. Ngo Hai Duong, Head of Road Traffic Infrastructure Management Division, Department of Transport of HCMC.

Current Regulations on Truck Ban Hours on Vo Van Kiet Street

To clarify the question of whether Vo Van Kiet Street has truck ban hours, we need to understand the current regulations. According to Decision 23/2018 of the People’s Committee of HCMC, trucks are classified and subject to different ban hours:

Light trucks (under 2.5 tons, excluding vehicle weight): Prohibited from circulating in the inner city area during peak hours (6 AM – 9 AM and 4 PM – 8 PM).
Heavy trucks (from 2.5 tons and above): Completely prohibited from circulating during the daytime, only allowed to operate from 10 PM the previous night to 6 AM the next morning.

For Vo Van Kiet Street, a crucial arterial road of the city, how are these regulations applied? Mr. Ngo Hai Duong stated that before 2018, trucks were allowed to travel on Vo Van Kiet Street outside of peak hours. However, since 2018, due to a sudden increase in traffic volume, especially on the section from Lo Gom Bridge to Thu Thiem Tunnel, causing serious traffic congestion, HCMC has adjusted the regulations.

Currently, Vo Van Kiet Street applies truck ban hours during peak hours across the entire route, except for the section from Ho Hoc Lam to Phu Dinh Port. Specifically, heavy trucks are only allowed to operate from 10 PM to 6 AM the next morning.

Why are Truck Ban Hours Implemented on Vo Van Kiet Street?

Explaining the truck ban hours on Vo Van Kiet Street, representatives of the HCMC Department of Transport emphasized the dramatic increase in traffic volume. Statistics show that:

2012: Over 14,500 vehicles/day and night
2017: Nearly 44,500 vehicles/day and night
2018: Nearly 50,000 vehicles/day and night
Early 2019: Over 51,000 vehicles/day and night

The growth in car traffic, including both personal and commercial vehicles, has put significant pressure on the traffic infrastructure of Vo Van Kiet Street, leading to frequent congestion. Without truck ban regulations, the traffic situation would become even more severe, affecting the entire area.

Mr. Duong also further explained the reason for still allowing heavy trucks to circulate on the Ho Hoc Lam section: HCMC has a ring road surrounding the inner city area. On this ring road, there are specific corridors such as ports, factories, export processing zones, industrial parks, etc. To ensure freight transport operations serving these areas, heavy trucks are still allowed to circulate during the daytime on some corridor routes, outside of peak hours, including the section from Ho Hoc Lam to Phu Dinh Port.

Thus, the truck ban regulations on Vo Van Kiet Street are a reasonable traffic organization solution, based on actual surveys and specific data, aimed at reducing congestion and ensuring smooth traffic flow for the city.

Solutions and Future: Enhanced Camera-Based Enforcement

The issue is not just about whether Vo Van Kiet Street has truck ban hours, but also about the implementation and control of these regulations. In reality, the situation of trucks intentionally violating ban hours still occurs, causing public concern.

To address this issue, the HCMC Department of Transport stated that the key solution in the near future is to enhance remote enforcement via camera images. Currently, the transport sector has installed 700 cameras on key routes, including Vo Van Kiet Street.

Surveillance camera captures a truck violating traffic restrictions on Vo Van Kiet Street, Ho Chi Minh City.

Camera-based enforcement is expected to bring many advantages:

Improved control effectiveness: Cameras operate 24/7, recording violations objectively and continuously.
Reduced negativity: Limiting direct human intervention reduces the risk of negativity in the violation handling process.
Automation of processes: The system will automatically extract data from the Vietnam Register to identify vehicle information and violations, then transmit it to functional agencies for processing.

The Department of Transport is coordinating with the HCMC Police to develop coordination regulations to effectively implement remote enforcement of trucks violating ban hours. This solution is expected to be implemented in 2019, contributing to ending the situation of trucks “carelessly” running during restricted hours on Vo Van Kiet Street and other routes.

Conclusion

Thus, the answer to the question whether Vo Van Kiet Street has truck ban hours is YES. Current regulations prohibit heavy trucks from circulating on Vo Van Kiet Street during the daytime (from 6 AM to 10 PM), except for the Ho Hoc Lam to Phu Dinh Port section, and light trucks are prohibited during peak hours. This is a necessary measure to reduce traffic congestion, ensure traffic safety and efficiency on this arterial road. In the future, enhanced camera-based enforcement promises to improve the effectiveness of regulation implementation, contributing to building a more civilized and smooth urban traffic system.

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