Effective since January 1, 2022 and with the aim of enhancing road traffic safety, Viet Nam’s national government’s Decree No. 123 dated December 28, 2021 comes with new traffic fines and violation penalties you should be cautious of, as most of these fines have been increased by a large margin!

Especially, fines for riding a motorbike without license plate or with unknown number plates, as well as penalties for trying to hide registration plates or changing the colour of vehicle plates are now 10 times as high. Such violations could face a fine between VND 1 million and VND 2 million instead of VND 100,000- VND 200,000 as before.

Not wearing a helmet whilst riding a motorbike could hit with a fine more than two times the previous amount.  Penalties for several traffic offences also increase by 6 to 10 times. In particular, fines for attempting to hide or disguise car number plate now increase to VND 4 million – VND 6 million from VND 800,000 to VND 1 million.

Using car driving licenses that have been expired for less than three months and exceeding three months could face a fine of VND 5 million to VND 7 million, and VND10 million to 12 million respectively.

Fines for riding motorbikes under or over 175cc without driving licenses, using modified or expired licenses are VND 1 million to VND 2 million, and VND 4 million to VND5 million respectively. Increased fines and penalties are to address issues if violators refuse to show papers and pay the fine to avoid getting their driving licenses confiscated.

A maximum penalty of VND 10 million to VND 15 million, and VND 20 million to VND 25 million is imposed on those who are guilty of illegal street racing involving motorbikes and cars respectively.

Fines for parking, signaling, and improper turning violations on highways are VND 10 million to VND 12 million.

The penalties are much stricter for violations involving counterfeit license plates, with charges expected to increase ten times higher than the previous amount. Selling fake number plates could carry a fine of VND10 million to VND 12 million for individuals, and VND 20 million to VND 24 million for organizations. Penalties for producing fake license plates are VND 30 million to VND 35 million for individuals, and VND 60 million to VND 70 million for organizations.

Mr Nguyen Trung Nghia, the Chief of the Office of the Da Nang Traffic Safety Committee, said that Da Nang has recently seen many vehicle drivers attempting to hide or disguise their number plate in order to avoid risk of an administrative penalty for their traffic violations caught by traffic monitoring cameras. Hence, he highlighted the need to increase penalties for traffic offences in a bid to deter the most common traffic violations.

Colonel Phan Ngoc Truyen, the Head of the Traffic Police Division of the Da Nang Police Department said that officers have been deployed across Da Nang to enforce new rules since January 1, 2022.

Reporting by THANH LAN – Translating by H.L