Many old motorcycles will go off Ho Chi Minh City 's roads when alimit on their life span to be recommended soon by the police isapproved by authorities.

The People's Committee recently instructed the police to work with otheragencies to draft regulations on the maximum life span, including ofelectric motorcycles.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran ThanhTra, deputy head of the Road and Railway Traffic Police Division(PC67), said this is aimed at reducing road accidents and pollutioncaused by old vehicles.

He said that Vietnam already has regulations on the life of trucks and buses, and it is time to regulate for motorcycles.

The new regulations will help the police check the use of xe mu(obsolete vehicles without lamps, horns, or even number plates) andvehicles of unclear origin,which are often blamed for causing accidents,he said.

"We have much difficulty with accidents and other hassles caused by old motorcycles."

He promised the new regulations will be drafted carefully, reasonable and logical, and widely acceptable.

Dr Pham Xuan Mai of the HCM City Technology University saidthe maximum life span should not be in terms of age but in distancetravelled.

Duong Hong Thanh, deputy director of the city'sDepartment of Transport, said the important thing is to reduceemissions from old bikes and not regulate their life span.

Nghi Cam Tuong, who has been a xe om (taxi motorbike) driver for 20years, said the maximum life of motorbikes should not be regulated sincemany poor people use them for their livelihoods.

DeputyMinister of Transport Le Manh Hung concurred, but said this meant theregulation should only be passed after careful research.-VNA