Gas emissions from motorbikes will be periodically checked under the revised Vietnamese Law on Road Traffic which will be submitted to the National Assembly this year to protect the environment.

Under the revised law, checks will be carried out by vehicle registration agencies while Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The will stipulate monitoring procedures.

The Vietnam Register said motorbike emissions caused serious pollution, especially in big cities where there were a large number of motorbikes.

However, emissions testing had only been applied for new vehicles until now.

All new motorbikes had to meet euro2 standards in 2007 and euro3 in 2017.

Raising emissions standards for motorbikes had helped increase engine quality and reduce pollutants in the air, said a representative of the Vietnam Register.

However, the rapid increase in the number of motorbikes had led to increased emissions while legal regulations did not cover used vehicles.

“At present, the country has more than 50 million motorbikes in circulation, accounting for 95 per cent of motor vehicles and emitting 80-90 per cent carbon monoxide [CO] and hydrocarbons [HC], and 50 per cent of nitrogen oxide [NOx] of the total from all motor vehicles,” Dang Tran Khanh, deputy head of Motor Vehicle Evaluation at the Vietnam Register, told atgt.vn.

“Motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi account for 25 per cent of the total nationwide, so the air pollution they cause is very serious,” said Khanh.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had already approved a project to monitor emissions from used motorbikes, he said. The register had set up some measures but they could not be completed because they were regulated by the existing Law on Road Traffic.

“Now we have to wait until the revised law is passed,” said Khanh.

He said the periodical checks could be carried out by private entities including motorbike maintenance centres, motorbike dealers and vehicle register centres, while state authorities would supervise and grant certificates for emissions standards.

Agreeing with the added clause, Duong Van Chu, director of the vehicle register centre in northeastern Bac Kan province, said the new content was necessary and needed a roadmap for implementation.

The new regulation should be applied in big cities first, he said.

Also, it was necessary to closely monitor and strictly manage the quality of accrediting units to ensure transparency and effectiveness.

Meanwhile, Khuong Kim Tao, a former official at the National Committee of Traffic Safety, said the revised law should set the framework for motorbike emissions control.

“Supervising the quality of periodical checks will be very complicated so there should be penalties imposed for the owners of vehicles that display signs of emitting black smoke or a worn appearance,” said Tao.

VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK