Vientiane authorities are to crack down on electric tricycles and motorcycle sidecars in the capital as part of a move to reduce road accidents.
Head of the transportation management division under the Vientiane Public Works and Transport Department, Mr. Sivone Subthavy, said such vehicles are only allowed to be used inside factories or private areas but are often found on main roads around Vientiane. He said such vehicles are frequently involved in road accidents, as quoted by Vientiane Times.
Mr. Sivone cited the fact that the majority of electric tricycles are not registered and have no number plate, vehicle license or other documents as one of the issues, and making them difficult to manage when road accidents occur.
Officials will first re-educate the drivers and issue a ticket for violating the regulations when they find such vehicles on the road, but next time they will confiscate the vehicles for three to six months or issue larger fines, Mr. Sivone noted.
Laos has about 1.8 million registered vehicles, with 843,500 registered in Vientiane alone. The majority of registered vehicles are motorcycles.