Is it legal to turn the odometer to avoid vehicle inspection?

Currently, the inspection cycle is calculated based on the number of months the vehicle has been in operation. Commercial vehicles have a shorter inspection cycle than family cars.

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assigned the Ministry of Transport to study a reasonable inspection cycle for non-commercial vehicles, private vehicles and commercial vehicles. In particular, the Deputy Prime Minister noted the study of regulations on inspection cycles based on the number of kilometers used.

This directive has received the approval of many private car owners. Experts also believe that if this method can be applied, it will be more accurate than the current method of calculating cycles by time.

There is not enough basis to put the act of rewinding the odometer on a car into criminal law (Illustration: N. Huyen)

However, there are concerns that vehicle owners may commit fraudulent acts to avoid vehicle inspection. Specifically, vehicle owners may “rewind” or “switch” the number of kilometers on the meter… or even use the excuse that the meter is broken and needs to be replaced.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dam Hoang Phuc, Director of the Automotive Engineering Training Program (Hanoi University of Science and Technology) said that there are currently no sanctions or regulations to control the number of kilometers displayed on cars.

“This can lead to cheating on inspection cycles through adjusting the number of kilometers. Even car manufacturers cannot control the cheating on vehicle kilometers. If this proposal is made, there should be an inspection mechanism to accurately determine the number of kilometers the vehicle has run in order to completely limit the above cheating, thereby avoiding negative inspections,” Associate Professor, Dr. Phuc suggested.

Also related to this issue, the leader of the Vietnam Registry Department said that if the inspection cycle is applied based on the number of kilometers, the act of extending kilometers must also be regulated in the Criminal Code to have enough deterrence and prevention.

If we only include it in the Road Traffic Law and impose administrative fines based on Decree 100, it will not be possible to completely prevent mileage fraud.

So is the act of rewinding the odometer on a car enough to be included in the criminal code?

Regarding this issue, Dr. Lawyer Dang Van Cuong, Hanoi Bar Association, said that the proposal to criminally prosecute the act of rewinding the odometer is unreasonable.

“Because this act of rewinding the meter cannot be determined as a dangerous act for society. Accordingly, if the fraudulent number of kilometers to avoid registration leads to the vehicle not meeting safety conditions and causing a fatal traffic accident, then this act (with consequences) can be prosecuted criminally.

As for the act of technical fraud to "avoid" vehicle inspection but has not caused material damage, not leading to fatal accidents or injuries to others, it has not been determined to be dangerous to society. In theory, it cannot be criminally prosecuted," analyzed lawyer Dang Van Cuong.

The lawyer further emphasized that criminalizing an administrative act must be carefully considered based on the theory of crime composition, assessing the dangerous nature of the act based on legal scientific knowledge, not just an idea.

“A time-based inspection cycle is reasonable. Currently, this plan also classifies vehicles: family cars and commercial vehicles.

In my personal opinion, for business vehicles, the inspection time can be shortened by about half or one third compared to private vehicles, which is more reasonable. Of course, this is still relative based on scientific calculations of the depreciation rate over time and usage process," said Lawyer Dang Van Cuong.

Two ways to look up vehicles with automatically extended inspection cycles

The Vietnam Register is developing search options for family cars that automatically extend their inspection cycles. It is expected to be implemented in May 2023.

According to the Department of Registration, vehicle owners will not need to bring their vehicles for re-inspection, do not need to complete documents at the registration stations, but can receive a certificate of extended registration cycle in 2 ways: Look up information on the TTDK application of the Vietnam Register or Look up online on the electronic information portal of the Department of Registration.

After entering correct and complete information, if the vehicle is accepted to extend the inspection cycle, the app will display a notification about the extension of the vehicle's inspection cycle.

A certificate of validity of the certificate and inspection stamp will be issued to the user. Vehicle owners can download it to their phones or print it out for use when participating in traffic.

This certificate will have a QR-Code, when participating on the road, the traffic police will scan the information through the code to authenticate the vehicle information.

According to the Department of Registration, if the plan to automatically extend the inspection cycle is approved by the Government, it will help vehicles to automatically extend the cycle without having to re-inspecte, and the current overload situation at registration centers will be resolved.

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