Officers
inspect and remind boat owners at Bich Ha wharf, Thai Thinh commune (Hoa Binh
city) to observe the regulations on traffic safety.
Since the end of 2017, publicity work has been promoted to ensure
boat owners will observe safety regulations. Accordingly, boats must be
equipped with lifebuoys and rescue equipment, and all passengers are required
to wear lifejackets, otherwise, boats are not allowed to leave the port. A list
of unsafe boats along with their owners’ names is put up along the road to the
wharf so local residents and passengers will know about their violations. This
measure has proven effective. Boat owners see their benefits and
responsibilities in ensuring safety for passengers, thus better obeying the
regulations.
According to Captain Bach Cong Thi, Vice Head of the waterway police
team under the province’s traffic police, as of February 2018, 265 boats have
registered to provide passenger transport services in Hoa Binh lake. Most of
them meet the safety requirements. The annual festival at Thac Bo God Temple on
the lake takes place from the third day to the end of the first lunar month,
drawing crowds of visitors. Therefore, safety is among the first priorities for
the provincial police.
In order to better ensure waterway safety, besides inspection work,
the waterway police, in coordination with other competent agencies in the field
and local authorities, hold conferences before every festival season to impart
the law on inland waterway transport to all boat owners and helmsmen.
Strict observation of regulations of safety has helped ensure that
no accidents occurred in Hoa Binh lake over the past years, no boats have been
overloaded and all of the boats have provided lifejackets to every passenger./.
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