Vietnam fines reckless drivers half the average annual salary

Vietnamese authorities hope the country’s famously chaotic roads could become a thing of the past after new, eye-watering penalties for breaching traffic rules were rolled out from January 1.

These range from 4 million Vietnamese dong ($250) for minor infractions such as running a red light, to more than 50 million dong ($3,184) for more serious offences.

And those who report other drivers for breaking the law could be paid up to 5 million dong — a major bounty in a country where the average monthly income is about 8 million dong, or around $500.

With the average per capita income equivalent to only about $6,000 a year, some have argued the penalties will financially cripple poorer commuters.

Yet in a country where about 30 people die on the roads every day, authorities are trying to address one of Vietnam’s most pressing public health challenges.

Every hour, another accident

Road accidents are the leading cause of death for young people in Vietnam.

Phạm Bá Hưng runs the Vietnam Advanced Driving Academy in Ho Chi Minh City and knows many people who have been in accidents.

« Traffic accidents in Vietnam take place every day, every hour, » he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are 18 deaths per 100,000 people caused by road accidents — three times the rate in Australia.

And while the government has been toughening its approach to try to reduce the road toll, about 11,500 people still die on Vietnamese roads every year.

A majority of vehicles on Vietnamese roads are motorbikes.

Under the penalties introduced from January 1, car drivers can be fined 20 to 22 million dong ($1,273 to $1,400) for causing an accident when opening a car door.

« I am very supportive of the increase in fines, which will help make Vietnamese people’s sense of traffic participation better — safer, » Mr Hưng said.

People often ignored speed limits, road signs and zebra crossings, he said.

« It’s necessary to change the driving culture first, » he said.

Severe punishments for drink driving and street racing

Penalties for some traffic violations have increased up to 50 times as part of Vietnam’s new measures.

Motorcyclists caught committing common traffic offences such as running red lights, going the wrong way down a one-way street or driving on the footpath face fines of between 4 and 6 million dong ($254 and $381).

Motorbike taxi driver Nguyen Quoc Phong, who confessed to regularly running red lights in the capital Hanoi, told the AFP news agency he was « shocked by the fine levels ».

« I am scared now. I have started to obey the rules strictly, » he said.

Hanoi-based WHO representative Angela Pratt welcomed the new measures and said they were being widely discussed by commuters in Vietnam.

Dr Pratt said the government had already managed to reduce the national road death toll between 2010 and 2021 by 40 per cent through tougher legislation and, importantly, enforcing those laws.

« One concrete example of that is Vietnam has some of the toughest drink-driving laws in the world, and they’ve been very strongly enforced in recent years, » she said.

Under the new changes, drunk drivers or those who refuse to be breathalysed by police will face fines of up to 40 million dong ($2,500).

« The situation before these new fines came in on the 1st of January was that the laws were good, but we could see that they were not being well enforced, » Dr Pratt said.

« That was partly because the penalties were not set at a level that provided a sufficient enough deterrent. »

Those who engage in illegal street racing or « reckless driving » can now be fined up to 50 million dong ($3,184).

Vietnam has also introduced a 12-point demerit system comparable to Australia’s, where those who repeatedly violate traffic violations will have their licences suspended.

Concerns over ‘astronomical’ fines on social life in Vietnam

Thanh Tam Tran is all too familiar with Vietnam’s perilous traffic conditions.

She spent years researching how to improve pre-hospital care for victims of road accidents for her PhD at the Australian National University.

« You would be very hard pressed to find a Vietnamese that doesn’t have a personal experience with traffic injury, » Dr Tran said.

« I’ve been living in Australia for about 15 years now and even coming back to Vietnam I still get scared crossing the road. »

Because Vietnam lacked a robust ambulance service, bystanders often played a crucial role in providing first aid or helping the injured get to hospital, she explained.

The so-called « golden hour » — the 60-minute period after a traumatic accident — was « crucial » for determining a victim’s chances of recovery, Dr Tran said.

But she was critical of the new system to incentivise snitching on others rather than encouraging people to help out after an accident.

« When you get into a traffic accident, you depend on all the people to help you, » Dr Tran said.

« Now you’re just being one citizen against another — and that is just never a good thing for societal cohesion. »

Dr Tran also argued the fines would disproportionately impact low-income Vietnamese.

« The fine is an astronomical amount. It’s going to be punishing the poor more than the rich, » she said.

But Dr Pratt from the WHO said that while the social impact of the new penalties needed to be monitored, the severity of fines was important for driving behavioural change.

« The logic is obvious: if the fines are set at too low a level … people don’t really care if they have to pay a fine because it doesn’t cost much, » she said.

« Now the fines are set at a level that will provide a very significant deterrent. »

Dr Pratt said, though, that fines alone were not enough.

« Vietnam’s success in improving road safety to date has been the fact that they have taken a comprehensive approach: laws, enforcement, infrastructure, vehicle safety standards … there is no silver bullet. »

By Max Walden & Lachlan Bennett – Australian Broadcasting Corporation – January 14, 2025