Violations in Thu Thiem Tunnel punished

SaigonTimes. Wednesday, November 30,2011
HCMC – Thirty-two cases of violating Thu Thiem Tunnel regulations have been recorded after three days of applying penalties with the highest fine amounting to VND1.7 million, the police said.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of Ben Thanh Traffic Police in HCMC’s District 1, said a large number of violations are resulting from citizens forgetting to turn on low beam headlights and illegally turning around at tunnel entrances.

Loan added that penalties varied depending on the seriousness of the violations. Under Decree 34/2010, the penalties range from VND800,000 to VND2 million for automobile drivers violating the rules on lighting, parking, U-turning, passing other vehicles inside the tunnel or exceeding the speed limit by 10-20 kilometers per hour.

However, since Thu Thiem Tunnel was newly opened to traffic, the highest penalty applicable to the above violations is VND1.7 million, plus a 30-day detention of driver’s licenses.

Motorcyclists committing the same violations can receive fines as high as VND750,000 and their licenses can also be detained for a month.

Because the tunnel section is under the Saigon River and it has 20,000 vehicle crossings daily, citizens traveling in the tunnel must strictly obey the regulations, said Tran Quang Lam, director of Thu Thiem Tunnel management center.

Lam said the application of penalties helped threaten drivers and motorcyclists but the most important thing is people’s awareness.

Only one week after being opened to traffic, Thu Thiem Tunnel at the weekend was completely overloaded with motorcycles, causing severe congestion at both entrances.


Vocaburary:

1. Tunnel /ˈtʌn(ə)l/(n)
An artificial underground passage, especially one built through a hill or under a building, road, or river.
Ex: A road tunnel through the SaiGon River.
Ex: light at the end of the tunnel

2. Punish /ˈpʌnɪʃ/ (v) phạt, trừng phạt, trừng trị

3. Artificial /ɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural.

4. Lieutenant /lɛfˈtɛnənt/ (noun): A deputy or substitute acting for a superior: one of the Prime Minister’s most trusted lieutenants

(In the US) a police officer next in rank below captain

Colonel /ˈkəːn(ə)l/ (noun)

A rank of officer in the army and in the US air force, above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier or brigadier general.
đại tá

Lieutenant Colonel = trung tá.

5. Beam /biːm/ (n, v): A ray of light
Tia ánh sáng

6. Headlight /ˈhɛdlʌɪt/ (n): A powerful light at the front of a motor vehicle or railway engine.

Đèn pha

Entrances /ˈɛntr(ə)ns/ (n) an opening, such as a door, passage, or gate, that allows access to a place.

Ex: the entrance to a tunnel.

Cổng vào, lối vào.

7. Decree /dɪˈkriː/ (n) an official order that has the force of lawv.

Nghị định.

8. Vehicle /ˈviːɪk(ə)l/  (n) a thing used for transporting people or goods, especially on land, such as a car, lorry, or cart.

9. Detention /dɪˈtɛnʃ(ə)n/ (n) the action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody.

Sự giam cầm, sự cầm tù; tình trạng bị giam cầm, tình trạng bị cầm tù

Detention = Detainment = hold.

10. Motorcyclists = Motorcycle /ˈməʊtəsʌɪk(ə)l/ (noun) a two-wheeled vehicle that is powered by a motor and has no pedals.

Xe hai bánh.

11. Obey /ə(ʊ)ˈbeɪ/ (v) Tuân theo, vâng lời.

I always obey my father.

12. Penalty /ˈpɛn(ə)lti/ (n) a punishment imposed for breaking a law, rule, or contract

hình phạt, tiền phạt

13. Severe /sɪˈvɪə/ (adj) (of something bad or undesirable) very great; intense

Nghiêm trọng, nặng nề, ác liệt.

14. Congestion /kənˈdʒɛstʃ(ə)n/ (n)

Sự tắc nghẽn, sự đông nghịt (đường sá).

15.  Automobile /ˈɔːtəməbiːl/ (noun) a car.

Xe hơi