The Traffic Police Department announced this content on 21/8, as part of Circular 108/2026 on driving license examinations and issuance. This test exercise is a concretization of the rule that slower vehicles should keep to the right in the direction of travel. The lane adjacent to the median strip is designated for faster-moving vehicles and for overtaking.

According to Circular 108/2026 on driving license examinations and issuance, the practical on-road car driving test includes two exercises: accelerating to overtake and accelerating to change lanes. Candidates must correctly perform the lane change procedure, ensuring safety both ahead and behind, and using turn signals.

The Traffic Police Department provides the following specific procedure:

When driving in lane 2 (counting from the median strip), if a candidate wishes to overtake, they must activate the turn signal, check for safe conditions, and then move into lane 1, adjacent to the median strip. After passing the vehicle ahead, the candidate must return to lane 2.

If the vehicle ahead is driving in lane 1 at a lower speed but still within the permitted speed limit, the candidate must not overtake on the right without permission. The driver must activate the left turn signal, combined with signals such as the horn, lights, or loudspeaker, to notify the vehicle ahead. Once safety is assured, the vehicle ahead will move to lane 2 to yield. The candidate then uses lane 1 to overtake and subsequently returns to lane 2 after completing the maneuver.

The Traffic Police Department believes that reserving lane 1 for high-speed vehicles and overtaking helps improve traffic flow and reduces instances of drivers occupying the overtaking lane unnecessarily.

This content also aligns with the traffic organization plan proposed by the Traffic Police Department for a pilot program starting in Q4/2026 on the Hanoi - Hai Phong and Cau Gie - Ninh Binh expressways. Under this plan, lane 1 is exclusively for overtaking; drivers, after overtaking and maintaining a safe distance, must return to the right lane and not continuously drive in the overtaking lane when right lanes are clear.

The new on-road driving test modules will be implemented from 1/3/2027, comprising 12 exercises. In addition to the skills of accelerating to overtake and returning to the lane after overtaking, the remaining exercises include: vehicle safety check and starting, accelerating to change lanes, turning left, turning right, making a U-turn, avoiding oncoming vehicles, yielding to pedestrians or wheelchairs, stopping in dangerous situations, handling merging from a minor road to a main road or a non-priority road to a priority road, obeying traffic lights, and opening the car door to finish.

The test is conducted on a minimum 5 km road section, featuring situations such as T-junctions, crossroads, roundabouts, traffic lights, and pedestrian crossings. Exercises may appear multiple times and not necessarily in a fixed sequence, aiming to assess the ability to handle real-life situations rather than memorizing the test route.

Pham Hai