Police have fined nearly 4600 motorbike drivers for not wearing helmets in the past week, and seized more than 1000 motorbikes. Notably, 75 percent of violators are youngsters.

According to the Hanoi Transport Police Department, the total fines is up to over VND800 million ($40,000).

Ba Dinh and Dong Da districts record the highest numbers of violators, with nearly 1000 cases each. There were over 200 violators at the age of under 18 and over 3000 others at the age of 18-30. People younger  than 30 accounted for 75 percent of the violations.

Notably, some young violators didn’t obey traffic policemen’s orders, ran away at high speeds and even attacked police officers.

Colonel Nguyen Duy Ngoc, chief of Hanoi Traffic Police Department said that police officers would not chase these people to avoid endangering other motorists. However, they will take note of the registered numbers of the vehicles for punishment later.

At  7 am of February 11, Hanoi police launched a campaign to punish people who don’t wear helmets while riding motorbikes. The campaign involves transport police officers as well as other police forces, to raise public awareness of traffic rules and safety.

After a week, the situation has improved. However, some people, especially youngsters, still go ride the streets without helmets. VietNamNet took the below pictures on February 18.

PV