Except for a few sections that allow passing with a scale of 4 lanes, the remaining portion of the Cam Lo-La Son expressway is 2 lanes with a maximum speed of 80km/h, without a hard median barrier; there are many uphill and downhill sections, as well as sharp turns, which pose many potential traffic safety risks.
Most accidents are caused by head-on collisions.
Narrow roads, foggy weather, vehicles overtaking each other on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway can easily cause accidents.
Most of the accidents that have occurred on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway recently are due to head-on collisions. However, the biggest drawback leading to accidents is the narrow road surface, without a median barrier or hard median barrier, which has been repeatedly reported by the media since the time this road was put into operation.
Mr. Vo Truong Giang, a service driver in Khe Sanh town, Huong Hoa district (Quang Tri), who specializes in driving on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway, shared that this road only has one lane in each direction, with a solid line and no-overtaking signs; every 5km, there is a passing point with a dashed line or a 1km extension of a lane with a hard median barrier for overtaking, but the speed limit is still restricted to 80km/h.
Due to the long slopes on the narrow roads, large vehicles often move very slowly. Small cars have to follow behind one another, which can be very frustrating. When they reach the passing section, even though there are 2 lanes with a hard median barrier, an emergency lane, there are still signs restricting the speed to 80km/h and the length for overtaking is only 1km.
The “bottle neck” is deadly.
On the Cam Lo-La Son expressway, every 5-8km, there is a section with 4 lanes for vehicles to overtake in the same direction. However, the passing points are only 1.5-2km long, then two lanes merge into one lane like a “bottle neck”, which is dangerous for drivers who are not familiar with the road. This is also the location where car number 7-seater 36A-485.67 had an accident causing 3 deaths on February 18. In addition to intermittent phone signal, no gas stations, no rest stops…, the long no-overtaking sections, the Cam Lo-La Son expressway also lacks surveillance cameras, so some drivers get impatient, honk their horns, and suddenly accelerate to take the lead, creating dangerous situations.
TS TRAN HUU HUNG
Driver Le Cong Quang in Cam Lo town, Cam Lo district, said that he just started driving on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway, but found that the road was narrow, with only one lane for driving and one emergency lane. However, the emergency lane is also narrow enough for only one car, so it is very dangerous to park with warning lights on in the emergency lane.
Most of the entire road is a solid line, with some sections having dashed lines and some sections having 2 separate lanes for vehicles to overtake each other. If there is an accident or an incident in one of the lanes, traffic will definitely get stuck.
Talking about the Cam Lo-La Son expressway, the representative of the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board informed that due to budget constraints and limited socialization resources, the Cam Lo-La Son expressway was invested in phases. In the first phase, the construction was limited to 2 lanes or 4 lanes, so when put into operation, it did not meet the standards.
According to traffic expert, TS. Tran Huu Hung, with the current situation of the Cam Lo-La Son-Tuy Loan expressway, if the drivers do not stay in their lanes, it is very easy to crash into vehicles on the opposite lane, the entire route has almost no high-pressure lights on both sides.
The traffic density bypassing 3 toll booths (Bac Hai Van, Phu Bai, Nam Dong Ha) on the 180km long section of National Highway 1 connecting Quang Tri and Da Nang has increased rapidly in the past 3 years, due to the inadequate criteria for the expressway, about 200km of road from Quang Tri to Da Nang does not have speed monitoring cameras, transmitting data to the center. Although vehicles are only allowed to travel at speeds below 80km/h and 60km/h, most drivers do not adhere to these limits and drive at very high speeds, change lanes, and overtake recklessly. These are the main reasons for the continuous serious and especially serious accidents on the Cam Lo-La Son-Tuy Loan expressway in recent times.
Quang Tri Province has made many recommendations.
Accident scene on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway at Km 48+200 in Phong My commune, Phong Dien district, Thua Thien-Hue province, on February 18
Member of the National Assembly Ha Sy Dong, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Tri province, said that at the National Assembly forum and in meetings with central and Ministry of Transport leaders, Quang Tri province has made multiple recommendations regarding the urgent need to expand the Cam Lo-La Son expressway to 4 lanes.
“The Cam Lo-La Son expressway as it is now cannot be called an expressway. The reason is that other expressways nationwide have all been and are being invested in 4 lanes, while the Cam Lo-La Son expressway is a bottleneck, with an inconsistent infrastructure system, so it is prone to accidents.
In addition to adding 2 lanes, this expressway needs to strengthen signboards; upgrade and reinforce the drainage system; add shoulder lanes, rescue bays, emergency exits; increase inspection and control as well as install additional surveillance cameras and strictly deal with reckless overtaking, speeding… At the same time, promptly compensate and clear land to invest in the completion and consistency of this expressway as soon as possible,” Mr. Dong said.
When will it be expanded to 4 lanes?
Talking about the Cam Lo-La Son expressway, the representative of the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board informed that due to budget constraints and limited socialization resources, the Cam Lo-La Son expressway was invested in phases. In the first phase, the construction was limited to 2 lanes or 4 lanes, so when put into operation, it did not meet the standards.
According to the representative of the Highway Management Board, in 2-3 weeks, the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board will report to the Ministry of Transport on the plan to expand the Cam Lo-La Son expressway to 4 lanes (2 lanes per direction) with a hard median barrier.
By doing so, not only will the existing drawbacks be overcome, especially the convenience of vehicles overtaking will be greatly improved compared to the current 2-lane situation, but it will also ensure consistency with the East-West North-South expressway system that is being constructed and completed.
UNCLEAR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE EXPRESSWAY?
In 2023, when vehicles have been traveling on the Cam Lo-La Son stretch, the Road Management Zone II (Vietnam Road Administration) chaired and coordinated with relevant units to inspect the scene, report, and evaluate the traffic organization plan on this expressway. During the inspection process, the inspection team found that some vehicles, especially heavy trucks, cannot meet the minimum speed of 60km/h. Therefore, the inspection team recommended that the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Road Administration consider adjusting and reducing the minimum speed for this section of the expressway during the operational period. Currently, on the Cam Lo-La Son expressway, vehicles are only allowed to overtake at the 4-lane sections that meet the necessary conditions, and the distance between the passing sections is about 10km.
On the evening of February 20, the leader of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee also said that this expressway section in Quang Tri province has been in operation for over 1 year. During the period from the start of operation until December 2023, the temporary traffic organization plan was implemented. So the time for implementing the temporary traffic organization plan has passed, but there has not yet been any notification about how the traffic will be organized. “We heard that they are studying a traffic organization plan using level 3 parallel roads, but all plans need to be agreed upon soon, so that local authorities can disseminate the information clearly to ensure traffic safety,” the leader of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee said.
