Vietnam traffic rules for foreigners (2026): helmets, alcohol, fines

The non-negotiables: helmet, side of the road, lights

Vietnam drives on the right. Helmets are mandatory for the rider and every passenger, fastened, on every trip — even a two-minute hop. Use your headlight in low light and rain, signal lane changes, and stay in the right-hand flow. These three habits cover the rules police check most often at a glance.

Traffic keeps to the right, which catches out riders from the UK, Australia, Japan and other left-side countries. The first few minutes feel backwards; give yourself slow streets before a main road.

A fastened helmet is required for both rider and passenger, and an unfastened or carried-not-worn helmet counts as not wearing one. Children ride helmeted too. We deliver two helmets with every bike so this is never the gap that gets you stopped.

Run your headlight in rain, dusk and tunnels, and signal before you change lane or turn. Bikes here filter and merge constantly, so predictable signalling matters more than speed.

• Drive on the right — opposite to UK/AU/JP/NZ
• Helmet fastened on rider and passenger, every trip
• Headlight on in low light and rain; signal every lane change

Alcohol: the limit is effectively zero

Vietnam's drink-drive limit is effectively zero (0.0 BAC). Any detectable alcohol is finable, and Decree 168/2024 attaches large penalties for riding after drinking. There is no safe 'one beer' margin. The honest rule for a riding day is simple: if you've had anything to drink, take a Grab and leave the bike.

This is the single rule visitors most underestimate. Roadside breath checks are common in Da Nang in the evenings and around weekends, and 'just one' is still a positive reading.

Because the threshold is zero, there is no calculation to make — only a decision. Plan beach-bar and night-out evenings around Grab or a taxi, and ride the next morning once you're clear.

Riding under the influence also stacks against you in any incident: it weakens your position on fault and can void a travel-medical policy that would otherwise help you.

• Effective limit is 0.0 BAC — any alcohol is finable
• Evening roadside breath checks are routine
• Drinking can void travel-medical cover and worsen fault

Phones, red lights and everyday fines

Riding while holding a phone and running a red light are both routinely fined under Decree 168/2024. Mount your phone for navigation rather than holding it, treat amber as stop, and don't filter through a red. Speeding, wrong-way riding and no-helmet are the other common stops. Pay attention at junctions — that's where enforcement concentrates.

Use a handlebar phone mount for maps instead of riding one-handed; holding a phone is its own offence. Set your route before you pull away.

Red-light running is enforced at major Da Nang intersections, increasingly with cameras as well as officers. Stop on amber and don't follow the scooter ahead through a fresh red.

Other frequent fines are speeding, riding the wrong way down a one-way street, and carrying too many passengers. None of these are worth the risk on a holiday bike — ride conservatively and you'll rarely meet a problem.

• Holding a phone while riding is finable — use a mount
• Red-light and amber-running are camera-enforced at big junctions
• Speeding, wrong-way riding and overloading are common stops

Horn culture and how local traffic really flows

The horn in Vietnam means 'I'm here,' not 'get out of my way.' A short beep when overtaking, approaching a blind corner, or passing a bike that might pull out is normal and courteous. Traffic flows by constant gentle negotiation rather than strict lane discipline — move predictably, look before merging, and let faster bikes pass.

A light tap of the horn as you come alongside or approach a junction tells others your position. It isn't aggression; staying silent and surprising someone is the riskier move.

Lanes are advisory. Bikes, cars and the occasional truck share space and merge fluidly, so signal your intention, glance over your shoulder, and ease in rather than darting.

Ride at the pace of the flow around you. Larger vehicles expect to be given room, and a calm, readable rider is a safe rider here.

• A short horn beep signals position, not annoyance
• Lanes are advisory — bikes merge by negotiation
• Signal, look, and move predictably; give bigger vehicles room

What police actually check at a stop

At a stop, officers typically check your helmet, licence, and whether your licence is valid for the bike you're on. A petrol bike over 50cc needs a motorbike licence plus a valid 1968 Vienna Convention IDP. A licence-free electric scooter rated 4 kW or under needs neither — which removes the licence question entirely.

Vietnam recognises only the 1968 Vienna Convention IDP for a petrol motorbike over 50cc — a 1949 Geneva permit is not valid here. If your home country issues the 1949 permit (the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore, Spain and Ireland among them), you cannot legally ride a petrol bike over 50cc, and we won't pretend otherwise.

If your country is a 1968 party (the UK, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands among many others), bring the 1968 IDP — category A1 for bikes up to 125cc, category A for over 125cc — alongside your home licence.

If your permit isn't recognised, the clean, legal answer is an electric scooter rated 4 kW or under: no licence and no IDP required, legal for every nationality. Our concierge Kai runs a 90-second check before you book so you're never handed a bike you can't legally ride.

• Checked: helmet, licence, and licence-vs-bike match
• Over-50cc petrol = motorbike licence + valid 1968 IDP (A1 ≤125cc, A over 125cc)
• Electric ≤4 kW = no licence, no IDP, legal for everyone

The fines that matter most in 2026

Under Decree 168/2024, riding without a Vietnam-recognised licence is fined VND 2–4 million for a bike up to 125cc, or VND 6–8 million for over 125cc, plus a 7-day impound. Separately, under Article 32.10, whoever hands an unlicensed rider the bike faces a VND 8–10 million fine. Helmets are mandatory and the alcohol limit is zero.

The over-125cc band carries the heavier penalty, and the impound means your trip plans stall for a week while the bike is held. These are the numbers worth memorising before you decide what to ride.

Article 32.10 is the reason any honest operator screens you: the person who gives a bike to an unlicensed rider is fined VND 8–10 million in their own right. A rental that waves you onto an over-50cc petrol bike without checking is exposing both of you.

Insurance won't quietly rescue an illegal ride. Compulsory CTPL protects a person you injure, not you, and can be refused for an unlicensed at-fault rider. A rental Collision Damage Waiver is a contractual cap, not insurance. Your own travel-medical policy — Genki Traveler, for instance, can cover riding up to about 125cc including a licence-free electric — but riding without a recognised licence can void it. We'll never tell you you're 'fully insured.'

• No recognised licence: VND 2–4M (≤125cc) or VND 6–8M (over 125cc) + 7-day impound
• Handing the bike to an unlicensed rider: separate VND 8–10M (Article 32.10)
• CTPL protects others, a CDW is a cap not insurance, and illegal riding can void travel cover

Frequently asked questions