Old motorbikes and other vehicles without proper documentation were seized by traffic police near the Binh Phuoc Overpass area in HCMC Monday. 

The officers began working 8 a.m. on the National Highway 13 as part of a month-long campaign launched by the HCMC Traffic Police Department to weed out such vehicles in order to reduce polluting emissions.

The Vehicle Identification Numbers were checked carefully to prevent document forgery. Most people who use dilapidated vehicles transport goods for a living and do not possess vehicle documentation given to their original owners.

An officer cleans grease and rust off a motorbike to see its identification number.

An officer records details of a motorbike with several parts missing. These vehicles are deemed to accident prone, apart from polluting the environment.

Phuong, who transports goods for a living, manages to show his driver's license and personal identity card, but no vehicle documentations.

"I was told by my employers to transport goods for clients, so I had to use whatever vehicle was available," he said.

"I bought this secondhand vehicle six months ago. I modified it to transport goods for VND3 million ($130.27). However, all the faults identified by the police are accurate, so I will comply with the penalties," said the vehicle’s owner Doan.

The most common violations that the police found included: driving vehicles without mirrors and lights; not wearing helmets and not carrying necessary papers. Some of these violations carry fines higher than the actual value of the vehicle, so drivers simply abandon them.

In an hour on Monday morning, around 10 vehicles had been seized by the police.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has requested Hanoi and HCMC to either reclaim or get rid of motorized vehicles that are too rundown and do not meet environmental standards.

Outdated, secondhand vehicles are often used by the poorer section of society due to their cheap price and wide availability. However, they have also raised safety and environmental concerns due to their outdated models often not abiding by current environmental and emission standards.