禁漫天堂

Is anyone aware of/heard of a massive traffic police crack-down?My wife reports that the traffic police all over Vietnam have started about 1 week or so ago totally MASSIVE crack-down with huge fines.Fines for almost everything (i can only ope that includes stupid people/boy driving very stupidly and much too fast, for a change). But things like jay-walking, ie not crossing at the risible pedestrian crossing, walking on the wrong side of road, making a turn too late eg if you looking for street sign, and many others that are quite ridiculous.And some/all these minor offences that are giving them fines of FOUR MILLION or some such - which as you should know, that, even in these 'middle class' times and far too many cars, is the entire income for a job and family for most people!!!!Many people crying.My wife says that now everyone is very scared to drive on, or go on, street because they simply cannot afford the risk of such fines.Totally laughable really. In my own experience, over SIX YEARS, i barely EVER saw any traffic police out, ever, (in six years, i see less than 10 times), and never for dangerous traffic offence as per the one i mentioned. i think they are all just sitting around drinking coffee and smoking. i was always surprised by this because i was thinking of how much 'coffee money' they would make every single day).My wife reports over 6bill per day revenue. For all i know that is actually much higher as Viet have problems with 'decimal places', so maybe 60bill. - @expat97

I disagree that it's "totally laughable" or that they are enforcing "ridiculous" rules.

That's an attitude usually expressed by entitled foreigners who don't feel that they need to follow the laws of this country.

My wife has been informing me since some new laws went into effect on January 1st and the government began increasing their focus on enforcement of laws and rules that were already on the books but had, as you say, been essentially ignored for a long time.

I actually thought about making a lengthy post about these new restrictions when I was first alerted to them, but I've learned in my years of being active in the forum that such posts are generally ignored.

I personally am glad to see that there's more order and focus on safety in traffic law enforcement.

The one I like the most is a ticket for crossing the stop line at an intersection before the light actually turns green.

The craziness that used to ensue up to 5 seconds before the light turned was a recipe for a fatal disaster.

The one I hate the most but understand is the crackdown on jaywalking.

I personally feel it's more dangerous for me to cross at a crosswalk because so many drivers of different kinds of vehicles ignore my right of way, but if the rules about strictly stopping at intersections are going to be enforced, then I will definitely cross at crosswalks and stop trying to ford the river of traffic as I cross the street against the flow.

We've also been happy to see that the helmet laws have been increasingly enforced since last year.

My wife says that another rule that's going to be enforced will be the necessity to make an arm signal when attempting to park at the side of the road or a curb.

I have empathy for people who don't make much money being fined a significant portion of their annual income, but it's definitely getting the attention of those who haven't been caught yet.

Our daughters now won't even allow their front wheel to touch the stop line at an intersection while they are waiting for the signal to change.

FYI: there are also new rules that are supposed to be enforced soon about 50cc motorbikes and e-bikes, having to do with registration and also the licensing of the drivers.

I don't have the exact link on those new policies, but it would probably be a good idea for newly arriving foreigners and those people living here who don't really follow these developments to check in with their local police department and make sure that they are complying with the law.

I'm sure that reputable motorcycle rental businesses and hotel concierges will be giving the right information to their customers.

Into the future....

Unfortunately Vietnam has the habit of going from the wild west to extremely strict overnight. Any time a rule is enacted or enforced its complete chaos. The rules are necessary because things have been out of hand for way too long however there typically is no room for grey. Back when the police cracked down on drunk driving there were reports of people getting tickets that never drank any alcohol at all. For example we heard reports of ladies getting tickets for eating too much fruit or taking cold medicine or litterally nothing at all just a device malfunction or cop wanting money but no way to argue it. My wifes hometown cracked down on speeding and my father in law got a ticket for litterally going 1km/hr over. Its the same thing here. People are getting tickets for stopping at the red light but having half the tire over the line and Ive heard people are getting tickets for passing a yellow light and it turning red right before they get throught he intersection. That happened to my own wife. She was totally through the yellow light and it didnt turn red until after but what can you even say? You cant really argue. If they are going to crack down on people walking on the street they need to make sure the sidewalks are clear first. Half the sidewalks are completley taken over by vendors or parking so you have no choice. Yes there are some negatives to the enforcement but I also welcome the enforcement of basic trafic laws and hopefully it gets a little less hectic and safer to drive around.

Here's a website link my wife discovered that pretty much details everything:

when I view it in Google Chrome I'm easily able to use the translate dropdown to read it in English

(via Google Translate)

(Link)

Ha Interior, December 26, 2024

(effective as of Jan 1, 2025)

Scroll down to Chapter II for a list of violations and fines.

edit: posted concurrently with member OceanBeach92107, above

@OceanBeach92107

Although I feel for those who are low income facing some very hefty fines, I have to admit this is good news to me. I arrived here in 2016 and, even though I鈥檝e gotten somewhat used to it, the traffic has always been appalling to me.

Of course people are going to get upset when they discover that they actually have to obey the laws now but they will get used to it after a few tickets have been handed out.

In the long run, if the laws are truly enforced, it will be a good thing for Vietnam.

Stopping people turning right on red is a serious mistake.聽 In many more developed countries they allow this (though emphasis on giving way to any traffic that has a green light).聽 The consequence seems to be massive traffic jams in central Saigon.

Yes, walking , when every footpath is a stall or parking space is VERY problematic, esp for us non-Viets who don't have a bike license. BUT, what is the rule?聽 It seems that we are allowed to walk on the road, in the normal traffic flow direction, as long as we stay as close as practical to the edge?聽 But have to use only available designated crossing points?

Is anyone aware of/heard of a massive traffic police crack-down?My wife reports that the traffic police all over Vietnam have started about 1 week or so ago totally MASSIVE crack-down with huge fines.Fines for almost everything (i can only ope that includes stupid people/boy driving very stupidly and much too fast, for a change). But things like jay-walking, ie not crossing at the risible pedestrian crossing, walking on the wrong side of road, making a turn too late eg if you looking for street sign, and many others that are quite ridiculous.And some/all these minor offences that are giving them fines of FOUR MILLION or some such - which as you should know, that, even in these 'middle class' times and far too many cars, is the entire income for a job and family for most people!!!!Many people crying.My wife says that now everyone is very scared to drive on, or go on, street because they simply cannot afford the risk of such fines.Totally laughable really. In my own experience, over SIX YEARS, i barely EVER saw any traffic police out, ever, (in six years, i see less than 10 times), and never for dangerous traffic offence as per the one i mentioned. i think they are all just sitting around drinking coffee and smoking. i was always surprised by this because i was thinking of how much 'coffee money' they would make every single day).My wife reports over 6bill per day revenue. For all i know that is actually much higher as Viet have problems with 'decimal places', so maybe 60bill. - @expat97I disagree that it's "totally laughable" or that they are enforcing "ridiculous" rules.

====That's an attitude usually expressed by entitled foreigners who don't feel that they need to follow the laws of this country.My wife has been informing me since some new laws went into effect on January 1st and the government began increasing their focus on enforcement of laws and rules that were already on the books but had, as you say, been essentially ignored for a long time. I actually thought about making a lengthy post about these new restrictions when I was first alerted to them, but I've learned in my years of being active in the forum that such posts are generally ignored.I personally am glad to see that there's more order and focus on safety in traffic law enforcement. The one I like the most is a ticket for crossing the stop line at an intersection before the light actually turns green. The craziness that used to ensue up to 5 seconds before the light turned was a recipe for a fatal disaster. The one I hate the most but understand is the crackdown on jaywalking. I personally feel it's more dangerous for me to cross at a crosswalk because so many drivers of different kinds of vehicles ignore my right of way, but if the rules about strictly stopping at intersections are going to be enforced, then I will definitely cross at crosswalks and stop trying to ford the river of traffic as I cross the street against the flow.We've also been happy to see that the helmet laws have been increasingly enforced since last year.My wife says that another rule that's going to be enforced will be the necessity to make an arm signal when attempting to park at the side of the road or a curb. I have empathy for people who don't make much money being fined a significant portion of their annual income, but it's definitely getting the attention of those who haven't been caught yet.Our daughters now won't even allow their front wheel to touch the stop line at an intersection while they are waiting for the signal to change. FYI: there are also new rules that are supposed to be enforced soon about 50cc motorbikes and e-bikes, having to do with registration and also the licensing of the drivers. I don't have the exact link on those new policies, but it would probably be a good idea for newly arriving foreigners and those people living here who don't really follow these developments to check in with their local police department and make sure that they are complying with the law. I'm sure that reputable motorcycle rental businesses and hotel concierges will be giving the right information to their customers. Into the future.... - @OceanBeach92107

======

@OceanBeach92107

You utterly misrepresent me and conflate what what i say, and ignore anything i said that contradicts your claims.

I particularly resent and object to your graqtutious assumption you attribute to me - "That's an attitude usually expressed by entitled foreigners who don't feel that they need to follow the laws of this country.".

i don't drive at all in VN.And if i did, i would drive a bloody sight better, more competently, and more safely, than constantly observed VN nationals

From simple observation for six years, in HCM and many other towns, it is VN nationals who constantly blithely ignore many common traffic laws - NOT 'foreigners' who in my experience are the opposite of what you claim without and facts (and it might be reasonable to state if some do, then they are just following the example they are set by the Vietnamese, but i have NOT actually seen the claimed behaviour.

This has been in the news for several weeks already.

For example, this article is from December 29:

Fines for cars running red lights to triple to nearly $800 next year

Obviously, the very high fines are considered necessary to get drivers to modify their behavior. That's the whole point.

This article reviews the improvements that have resulted:

Stricter fines reshape Hanoi, HCMC traffic with more orderly streets

If you choose to live in Viet Nam, you should be aware that you live in the 16th most populous country in the world and be ready to deal with the challenges that result from a significantly high population density.

"more orderly streets..." ,聽 they are now large parking lots at peak periods.

...Obviously, the very high fines are considered necessary to get drivers to modify their behavior. That's the whole point.This article reviews the improvements that have resulted:Stricter fines reshape Hanoi, HCMC traffic with more orderly streets - @jayrozzetti23

I usually don't wish misery on anyone, but the defiant guy in this screenshot from the link you shared will someday discover that stopping on the line counts as running the red light.

People in 膼脿 N岷祅g have already been cited for this. My daughters now want to get anywhere near the line when they stop.

I usually don't wish misery on anyone, but the defiant guy in this screenshot from the link you shared will someday discover that stopping on the line counts as running the red light. People in 膼脿 N岷祅g have already been cited for this. My daughters now want to get anywhere near the line when they stop. - @OceanBeach92107

I'm hoping the police opt to follow the spirit of the law聽 as opposed to the letter of the law.

If to the latter case, I'm thinking some form of popular might be somewhat understandable. I haven't read the full text of (yet) but wondering how far back from the line would be too far back.

On a side note, might these t-shirts soon become collectable nostalgia items?馃槉

@Aidan in HCMC, when I first moved to Shanghai, China, I thought the operative meaning of a red light was simply a suggestion that you do something different, like slow down for example.

@jayrozzetti23

Fines for running red lights is one thing!

And i would dearly like police to at last stop/fine stupid boys for excessive speed on the street.

In six years, i have seen such action ONCE.

But we are talking about 4mill fines for jay-walking, and walking on wrong side of road, or, another example, turning left 'late' because you need to read street sign.

And other such like.

Totally disproportionate and inappropriate.

And, BTW, i will tell you for a fact, I personally will聽 continue to walk on the 'wrong' side of the road, the same as every other country - I will NOT walk on a road with mad stupid incompetent distracted VN drivers coming up BEHIND me!!!!

That reminds me, of course i commonly see incredibly stupid blase VN people walking nonchalantly down the middle of the road with the traffic behind them - which i would classify differently. but you notice the biggest problem w THAT is that they are actually walking on the so-called 'right' side. ;-)

Fines for running red lights is one thing!

There have always been fines for running a red light.

As of Jan1st, for motorcycles the fine is VND 4,000,000 to VND 6,000,000.

If an accident occurs due to a red light being run, the fine escalates to VND 10,000,000 to VND 14,000,000.

For cars/trucks, the fine is VND 18,000,000 to VND 20,000,000. In the event of an accident being caused, the fine escalates to VND 20,000,000 to VND 22,000,000

And i would dearly like police to at last stop/fine stupid boys for excessive speed on the street.

Guilty! (though certainly no "boy")

In six years, i have seen such action ONCE.

Likely due to your stating earlier, "i don't drive at all in VN."

I drive (ride) a lot. I'd written on another thread...

'Over the past 7 years (2.5 years Saigon, 2.5 years T.P.Thai Nguyen/Hanoi, 2 years Phu Quoc) I've been stopped more than a dozen times. Unless it was for something egregious (for which I was duly fined), I was invariably waved on with a "Enjoy Vietnam, sir!" '

But we are talking about 4mill fines for jay-walking, and walking on wrong side of road, or, another example, turning left 'late' because you need to read street sign.聽 聽 And other such like.

I've had time to only give a quick review, but haven't been able to verify either of those three being finable infractions. Would it be possible for you to ask your wife what her source for this information is, or give us the section/subsection of the act where we should look? Google translate, as we're all aware, can be painfully inaccurate so there's a very good chance I've missed it in my search.

Totally disproportionate and inappropriate.And, BTW, i will tell you for a fact, I personally will continue to walk on the 'wrong' side of the road, the same as every other country - I will NOT walk on a road with mad stupid incompetent distracted VN drivers coming up BEHIND me!!!! That reminds me, of course i commonly see incredibly stupid blase VN people walking nonchalantly down the middle of the road with the traffic behind them - which i would classify differently. but you notice the biggest problem w THAT is that they are actually walking on the so-called 'right' side. ;-) -聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 @expat97

If they are impeding traffic, then that would be jay-walking. Jay-walking, in the classic definition, did not mean crossing the road at a non-designated crossing zone. It meant crossing the road in a reckless, possibly dangerous manner impeding traffic flow.

@Aidan in HCMC, when I first moved to Shanghai, China, I thought the operative meaning of a red light was simply a suggestion that you do something different, like slow down for example. - @Lennerd

LOL! I was told by the locals that whenever I blow through a red, I should sound my horn in a staccato manner馃槀

@OceanBeach92107

My wife says that another rule that's going to be enforced will be the necessity to make an arm signal when attempting to park at the side of the road or a curb.,,,,, kkkkkk , park on the side of the road, surely not .

...park on the side of the road, surely not . - @MarkinNam

Parking. Isn't that what the sidewalks were built for?馃槉

@KKK36

These new rules are pretty much useless and聽 a total waste of time except for the opportunity it gives the cops to make some BIG money. Traffic flow around Saigon was usually exceptionally fast and strangely organized compared to similarly large metropolises.

@adian @markinnam @oceanbeach92107

Yet another example.

People being fined for not waving their stupid hands at the traffic as they cross the road.

Yeah, right. Now I am sure THAT has stopped so many people being killed by careless arrogant fast f*wits on bikes, and ditto idiot boys driving trucks with no care at all, because, gee, s*t, they have this BIG truck now.

Another example: the police confiscating a man's bicycle, and all he has - because they - suddenly - deemed that he had too many plastic bags attached to his bicycle. And blithely, arrogantly, destroyed all he had in his miserable (literally) life.

And what infuriates me most, is that, as well as NOW destroying lives for the most trivial and frivolous of imagined offences, for SIX f*g years i have watched sooooooo many really dangerous stupid arrogant unthinking drivers on the road, [and, i mention in passing, so many VN 'drivers' who, because they are so important and 'rich' now they have car, but can't drive for nuts, and are a danger to everyone], while the Traffic Police sit in their office drinking coffee and smoking all day. One imagines - because they were certainly almost always totally invisible and NEVER actually doing their JOB.

And now, suddenly, there they all are, scurrying out of their holes in an vastly overzealous revenue-raising pogrom destroying people's lives

I wonder how many lives they might have actually SAVED if they had just done their f*g job every day?

And what also pisses me off is so many foreigners, with all their foreign money, who are so nonchalant and arrogant and dismissive about the utter importance of 4mill d fines to Vietnamese families? When 4mill is all so many Viet, who live in grinding poverty, get for a month's work of difficult grinding labour.

@OceanBeach92107

I strongly disagree with the strict enforcement聽 of traffic laws. I have been driving in Vietnam for 17 years I have interacted with traffic police from time to time. Egregious聽 driving should be enforced but common sense should prevail. I find most Vietnamese drivers are responsible and skilled but excessive speed and ERRATIC driving should be corrected. Crosswalks should be warnings only. If stoplights are required - so be it.

This is Vietnam where most people use motor bikes. Automobiles need to be regulated more stringently because of their greater size. The odd way cars and motorcycles are kept apart on highways is genius. Unfortunately some police abuse their authority and bully commonfolk. Unfortunately many police are not educated as well as being poorly trained/paid. But I have met some real professionals as well as a few dunderheads. On the whole I am satisfied with the environment of the last several years.

As an Indian living here... I always thought the traffic was very well mannered except for the Heavy Vehciles, Containers and few Elder Grab Drivers for whom no traffic rules applied.

Personally .. regulating with new law is a good step... but the fines have to equivalanet to general income of the populace. With 4 - 6 Million VND fine... where do you think the money is gonna go, when most cannot afford to pay these?

Car Driver's have it even worse than bike driver's.. small mistake and they are doomed.

Recently I have seen Police stop many young girl's for traffic violations in and around main HCMC city, while the rowdies I mentioned before continue to be the way they are.

In a high density city like HCMC... not everything is gonna be perfect due congested roads, footpaths encroached on..

Final Word,

Rules are needed, but they need to be practical, fines reasonable benefiting the Administration and not warming the cop's pockets.

I say a man was just heavily fined for posting dissension about traffic laws on Facebook he got in a lot of trouble just be careful guys

I say a man was just heavily fined for posting dissension about traffic laws on Facebook he got in a lot of trouble just be careful guys - @lambieallan

EXACTLY!!

Everyone on here is essentially an anonymous account, so it doesn't take much intestinal fortitude to go into a rage-filled rant.

But the very new people here may not be aware that the forum is always subject to "Host Nation Sensitivity", and threads can be shut down or deleted should admin determine that to be in the best interest of continually operating without offending the authorities here.

THAT'S why my initial reply here was to take exception with certain words that the government might find objectionable.

There's no problem talking about the laws in Vietnam, but when hot heads start criticizing the government, or declaring the laws here to be "totally laughable鈥� or "ridiculous", there is a real possibility that a government representative who routinely monitors our conversations here could block this domain in this country.

I think the best rule of thumb is to imagine that you are speaking your criticism face to face, in public, with the prime minister in Hanoi.

This is not some expat bar where like-minded fools drink themselves silly and get away with spouting all kinds of nonsense amongst themselves.

Every post here remains accessible to the public (just try and get an Old Post deleted someday and see how difficult it can be) so keep the conversation civil, and by all means avoid anything that could be construed by the government of Vietnam to be an ad hominem attack against a particular lawmaker or against the government as an entity.

Oooo... there seems to be no option to delete the post.

Does anyone know the way to delete it?

Apparently the fines either are not stiff enough or the police are 鈥渟till鈥� failing to enforce the laws. I鈥檓 still seeing bikes going against the traffic (wrong way on a one way street), treating the sidewalks like roads etc.

Oooo... there seems to be no option to delete the post.
Does anyone know the way to delete it? - @GuestPoster5530

Apparently it's easier to delete yourself....

Please take this with a pinch of salt.

I am foreseeing a domino effect in development, you should be able to put them in order accordingly: Ruthless traffic law enforcement, delivery riders month-to-date earnings is reset to 0 or negative in one snap of an incident, delivery riders hesitant to return to HCMC after Tet due to such 'traumatic experience' (similar to the factory operators post COVID situation), sparse delivery riders availability, many businesses rely on delivery affected and slowing down, road side vendors get less transactions as stopping at roadside to purchase is also risky, general population minimise outing to less than it used to be to minimise the risk, many people from small cities who used to find working in HCMC is more lucrative than living in small towns/villages opt to return to their hometown after Tet and never come back ever (mass repatriation) demand for rental in HCMC slower, buying power reduced, and so on and so forth.

It sounds like a property market cooling measure, Lol

I went for dinner last night with my GF and about 15 local people. They meet 3 or 4 times a year to discuss their shared passion, orchids.

I brought up the topic of , and why they thought the gov't had enacted such strict and punitive legislation. The consensus, right or wrong, was that it was in response to criticism(s) from western visitors/tourists/expats. Being that tourism is a very important part of the VN economy, the gov't is being viewed by many locals as being hypersensitive to criticism from foreign (read, western) visitors. One of the dinner party smiled and quipped, "I think Vietnam too Vietnamese for them".

Good one. I've committed it to memory.

Please take this with a pinch of salt.
I am foreseeing a domino effect in development, you should be able to put them in order accordingly: Ruthless traffic law enforcement, delivery riders month-to-date earnings is reset to 0 or negative in one snap of an incident, delivery riders hesitant to return to HCMC after Tet due to such 'traumatic experience' (similar to the factory operators post COVID situation), sparse delivery riders availability, many businesses rely on delivery affected and slowing down, road side vendors get less transactions as stopping at roadside to purchase is also risky, general population minimise outing to less than it used to be to minimise the risk, many people from small cities who used to find working in HCMC is more lucrative than living in small towns/villages opt to return to their hometown after Tet and never come back ever (mass repatriation) demand for rental in HCMC slower, buying power reduced, and so on and so forth.
It sounds like a property market cooling measure, Lol - @trex7891

I think this is a legitimate concern. Ive heard many times that the fines for one single violation can wipe out an entire months earnings and there are already people getting multiple violations. I think its 100% necessary to crack down on the blatant dangerous acts such as running through a red light or reckless driving or pushing a motorbike out of the way which causes a crash and fleeing the scene. Probably not wise to start punishing people just trying to make ends meet for stopping at the red light but being a few inches over the white line or getting a fine for passing the intersection while yellow but it turns red before they are completely cleared through the intersection. Thats where taking it too far can really start to do what you say because then people feel helpless and just give up. The Vietnamese community is extremely strong and resilient but that kind of stuff can break just about anyones spirit and I dont want to see that happen.