Urgently complete the repair of inadequate traffic light intersections.

The Department of Roads has just sent a report to the Ministry of Construction on the results of a general review and resolution of shortcomings in the traffic sign and light system. Accordingly, as of March 13, 38/63 localities and road management areas reported that on the road network there are 2,716 traffic light clusters at 2,716 intersections: 1,500 clusters have been handed over to the traffic police; 1,216 clusters have not been handed over; through the review, 586 clusters with shortcomings were discovered, to date 139 clusters have been handled, and 447 clusters are still being fixed.

Thousands of traffic light clusters are inadequate

On the national highways and expressways under the management of the Ministry of Construction alone, there are 1,839 traffic light clusters at intersections. Of these, 1,100 clusters have been handed over to the traffic police; 739 clusters have not been handed over; through review, 447 clusters were found to have problems, so far 83 clusters have been resolved, and 364 clusters are still being fixed.

The results of the review of the traffic light system reported by 38 localities show that the local road system has traffic lights installed at 877 clusters/intersections, of which 400 clusters have been handed over to the traffic police; 477 clusters have not been handed over; through the review, 139 traffic light clusters were discovered to have shortcomings in traffic organization, to date 56 clusters have been fixed, and 83 clusters are still being fixed.

Damages and shortcomings in THGT light clusters include: Light clusters that have been in operation for more than 5 years, are affected by sun, rain, wind, storms and other weather factors, leading to unstable and intermittent green and red signals; damaged power supply systems, including damaged electrical cabinets, damaged components or old batteries, leading to weak light signals.

In addition, traffic lights and countdown lights are damaged due to exploitation or traffic accidents; light bulbs are burned out; many light clusters do not have countdown lights; there are no pedestrian signal lights at intersections or they are broken and not working; the location of the signal poles is unreasonable or hidden; other damage and inadequacies have not been completely fixed.

"The reason for not completing the handover of THGT light clusters (739 clusters) on the National Highway is because most of these light clusters are at local road intersections (branch roads) intersecting with the National Highway and are invested by People's Committees at all levels, Provincial Traffic Safety Committees, and other local agencies using local capital, socialized capital, and are managed, operated, and exploited by local authorities. Therefore, it is necessary to complete the procedures to continue the handover," the report stated.

For damaged and inadequate traffic lights, road management agencies must continue to complete repairs according to Clause 4, Article 24 of Decree 165/2024/ND-CP before handing over to traffic police.

Some localities (such as Soc Trang Department of Construction) reported that the handover of THGT lights is currently pending assignment with the agency after organizational reorganization.

Inadequate signs cause difficulties for traffic participants

Regarding the road sign system, the whole country has 5,962 signs with shortcomings on the entire road network. Of these, 1,576 road signs have been inadequate but have not been processed, and 4,386 road signs have been completed.

Regarding the inadequate signs on national highways and expressways under the management of the Ministry of Construction, there are currently 957 signs (647 signs on roads managed by road management areas, Vietnam Expressway Development Investment Corporation, BOT investors and 310 signs on national highways managed by the Department of Construction).

The results of the review of the road traffic safety sign system on local routes reported by 38 provinces and cities show that there are a total of 2,403 signs with shortcomings. Of these, 1,784 signs with shortcomings have been recently handled; 619 signs have not been handled.

The reason why traffic signs still exist is because some signs are installed in unreasonable locations and need to be moved to other locations to ensure reasonable traffic organization; some locations have arranged enough signs on sign posts, but now the traffic volume and density of vehicles participating in traffic are increasing, so it is difficult for drivers to observe the signs, so these signs need to be placed on gantry frames or booms so that traffic participants can easily observe.

In many cases, signs have been used for many years, the surface of the sign and the symbols and drawings on the sign are blurred, the reflectivity is reduced, so it is necessary to repair the surface of the sign, re-adhere the reflective screen to increase recognition; the sign is obscured by trees or obstacles; some locations of the sub-signs have a lot of information, making it difficult for traffic participants to read the information on the sub-signs.

Based on the existing problems and shortcomings in the THGT lighting system and traffic signs, the Department of Roads requests the Department of Construction, People's Committees at all levels, and BOT enterprises managing highways to urgently complete the work of fixing, repairing, and renovating inadequate traffic light intersections; urgently and completely resolve the task of handing over the operation, exploitation, and use of the THGT lighting system to the Traffic Police force.

Current road signs with content and meaning different from the new standard (QCVN41:2024/BGTVT effective from January 1, 2025) must be replaced and adjusted immediately to ensure safe, smooth and unified traffic. Road signs installed on roads with symbols, signs, sizes, colors, and borders that are not completely in accordance with the new standard but do not cause misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the meaning of use compared to the new standard must be replaced before August 20, 2030.

During the time when the handling and overcoming of existing problems and shortcomings have not been completed, the road management agency and road user manager are responsible for using the above resources to overcome the work of cleaning and washing the surface of signs, re-gluing reflective surfaces, and repairing damaged signs.

Hong May