The red hexagonal sign with white STOP lettering is installed on side roads before intersections and at locations where drivers must stop and look around for safety.
At an empty intersection, many drivers only slow down, look both ways and continue. Some believe that the sign only requires them to yield. That is incorrect.
A STOP sign still requires a full stop at an empty intersection
Under QCVN 41:2024/BGTVT, the national technical regulation on road signs, sign R.122, commonly called STOP by drivers, belongs to a special group of regulatory signs.
Appendix D requires all motorized and non motorized vehicles, including vehicles with priority rights, to stop before the sign or the stop line. After stopping, a driver may continue on a permissive signal. If there is no traffic light or traffic controller, the driver may proceed only when no traffic safety risk remains.
Whether the intersection is busy does not change the sign's effect. Drivers must stop, rather than lightly applying the brakes and passing at low speed. A clear road helps a driver decide whether to continue after stopping, but it does not cancel the requirement to stop at R.122.
If road marking 7.1 is present, the driver must stop before it. QCVN 41:2024/BGTVT defines it as the line marking the stopping position before a red light or sign R.122. It is a solid white line across the lane.
If there is no stop line, the driver must stop before the STOP sign. The driver should then look in all directions, yield to vehicles with priority and proceed only when it is safe.
What is the fine for passing a STOP sign without stopping
Driving at a very low speed does not mean the driver complied with the sign. If the wheels kept moving and the vehicle passed the required stopping point, the driver did not fully obey sign R.122.
Under Point a, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP, a car driver who fails to obey a traffic sign or road marking may be fined from 400,000 to 600,000 dong, unless the conduct falls under another specific offence.
A STOP sign is often placed on a non priority road before a main road. If the violation also involves failing to slow down or stop and failing to yield when entering a priority road, Decree 168 sets a separate penalty for cars: a fine of 4 million to 6 million dong and a deduction of 2 driving licence points.
The actual fine therefore depends on the conduct recorded. Passing a STOP sign does not automatically mean a fine of only 400,000 to 600,000 dong.
A different rule applies when a STOP sign appears with traffic lights or a traffic controller. Drivers must follow the traffic controller first, then the traffic light, and then the road sign.
In the usual case, when an empty intersection has no traffic controller and no active traffic light, the rule is clear: stop completely before STOP, look around and proceed only after checking that it is safe. The absence of other vehicles is not a reason to ignore the sign.
Sources: Thanh Niên
