Starting 21/8, traffic police began driving on the Ha Noi - Hai Phong and Cau Gie - Ninh Binh expressways to demonstrate laws and skills for using only the leftmost lane (lane 1, counting from the median strip) for overtaking. Colonel Nguyen Quang Nhat, Head of the Traffic Accident Guidance, Propaganda, Investigation, and Resolution Department, Traffic Police Department, stated that these demonstrations will be carried out frequently in the coming period, for at least half a month, to familiarize drivers with the new regulations.
Traffic police use 4 vehicles to model maneuvers for changing lanes, overtaking, and returning to the lane. Authorities also use loudspeakers to remind vehicles on the expressway to move to the right lane when not needing to overtake, to avoid occupying the left lane. These actions are instructional and do not involve penalties.
According to the Department's guidance, a vehicle traveling in lane 2 that wishes to overtake must activate its turn signal, observe the front, rear, and both sides to ensure safety, then switch to lane 1. After overtaking the vehicle ahead, the driver must return to lane 2.
If a vehicle in lane 1 is moving slower but still within the minimum and maximum speed limits, traffic police will activate their left turn signal, combined with horn, lights, or loudspeaker, to signal. The vehicle ahead, when safe, will move to lane 2 to yield. The traffic police vehicle will then overtake and return to lane 2.
The Traffic Police Department requires drivers, when changing lanes, to observe the front, rear, and both sides, while ensuring safe speed and distance. Changing lanes to overtake does not mean maintaining a long-term presence in lane 1 after completing the overtake.
This organizational method, according to the Traffic Police Department, aims to create an "overtaking lane" allowing high-speed traffic to overtake conveniently. This also limits slow-moving vehicles from occupying the left lane, thereby increasing traffic flow and clearing congestion on expressways.
Notably, the Traffic Police Department stated that the skill of driving according to this method has been incorporated into the road driving test and will be implemented from 3/2027. Drivers will be required to perform the maneuvers of changing lanes to overtake and returning to lane 2 after completing the overtake.
Pham Hai
