Traffic police are cracking down on illegal parking in Vientiane, with pedestrians forced to put their lives at risk every day by walking on the road instead of the car-filled footpaths.
Many cars park illegally on footpaths in Vientiane.
A shortage of public parking spaces and the rising number of vehicles in Vientiane has led to an increased number of car owners using sidewalks to park, even though it is against the regulations.
In turn this has forced pedestrians to walk on the roads instead of footpaths, putting themselves at risk of an accident.
One local resident said Vientiane would be a safer and more orderly city if everybody obeyed the regulations in relation to parking.
He said he was afraid of having an accident when walking around the city because he had to walk on the roads instead of the footpaths, and an accident could happen at any time.
To address the issue, Vientiane Traffic Police Department Chief, Lieutenant Colonel Phommachan Suanbounma, said police would issue a warning to motorists who parked their vehicles on a footpath.
“Parking on footpaths is against the traffic regulations. If drivers won't comply, we will fine them,” he said.
Lt Col Phommachan said police had measures in place to address the parking problem, with a special focus on the footpaths of some main roads in Vientiane.
Focus roads include 23 Singha, Dongpalan, Setthathirath, Souphanouvong, and Lane Xang Avenue.
In these areas, police advised drivers to respect the traffic regulations, especially in regard to which side of the road they are allowed to park on and avoiding parking during peak hour traffic.
However, most members of the public agree that the traffic congestion problems in Vientiane are due to the fact that there is a lack of parking spaces in the downtown area, and many offices and shops don't provide these facilities.
For this reason, many people park their cars haphazardly wherever they can find a parking space, without consideration for the additional congestion they cause or the fact that an accident might happen.
Although the traffic police work continuously to conduct public awareness campaigns on road safety, the issue is a still challenge for society.
According to the traffic police department, parking on footpaths is a cause of accidents involving pedestrians, but drink-driving is still the major factor in accidents and fatalities in the capital.
In the first four months of this year, Vientiane recorded 130 road accidents leading to 231 injuries and 19 deaths, according to a police report.
