Only cops with blue cards can pull over vehicles Under a new regulation taking effect from January 1, 2013, only policemen wearing "blue cards" are allowed stop vehicles traveling on the road to issue fines and handle traffic violations. Under Circular 45/2012/TT – BCA of the Ministry of Public Security which took effect on January 1, 2013, no other law enforcement forces except traffic police officers wearing the blue cards have the right to pull over vehicles for checking and violation handling. However, Tuoi Tre has found that there are also many policemen handling traffic violation without wearing the blue cards at a number of sites in Ho Chi Minh City.   A security police officer stopped a motorbike owner for traffic violations on Pasteur Street, District 1, HCMC. Photo: Tuoi Tre. Card shortage Around 9 am on Saturday, on a National Highway No.1A session passing through Thu Duc District, there were two policemen of a municipal police team but the one without the card on his chest was the one asking passers-by to stop their vehicles. This police officer told Tuoi Tre that his blue card was waiting to be reprinted as it bore the wrong name.   A traffic police officer under Rach Chiec team is handling violation without the card as his card is being remade from a previous printing error. Photo: Tuoi Tre. An hour later, Tuoi Tre detected the same phenomenon in two policemen overseeing traffic flow under Saigon Bridge in Binh Thanh District. The one operating without authorization (i.e without the card) told Tuoi Tre that not all the officers on patrol under his team have been issued the cards. However, at other sites in districts of Phu Nhuan, 6, 5 and 3, all police officers there had their green cards clung onto their uniforms in accordance with the new regulation.   A police officer of Tan Son Nhat International Airport’s Traffic Police Team with a "blue card" is handling a violation case.Photo: Tuoi Tre. One policeman told Tuoi Tre that many people traveling on the street showed great interest and attention to the new regulation. Talking with Tuoi Tre, a leader of the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department (PC67) said the card shortage is real as C67 under the Ministry of Public Security has not provided all traffic police officers with the cards and there were also printing errors. To facilitate their work, the department has asked those without the cards to work only as assistants to the authorized ones. If people detect policemen violating the rule, they can call PC67 hotline:  (08)38387521.   A blue card sample bearing the name of the police agency (PC67 in HCMC), the police officer, his photo and police ID number in Vietnamese. Photo: Tuoi Tre. TuoitreNews