As the US laws continue to change almost daily on the subject of compulsory helmets (North Carolina being the most recent state to approve this), Vietnam has decided to go the whole hog and enforce a country-wide law in an attempt to improve safety and reduce casualty figures.

Unfortunately, the average biker hasn’t caught up with the change in law. Hanoi Police stopped almost 100 motorbike drivers during the first two hours of a campaign to enforce the new rule.
According to Tuoi Tre newspaper, about 40% of riders on these routes did not wear helmets on the first day of the new traffic rule. A significant number said they did not know of the new rule, despite a promotion campaign launched by the Government.

Senior lieutenant colonel Tran Son Ha, said the number of violators remained high as fines were too small "A fine of VND 40,000 (US$2.50) per motorbike is too little to scare violators.”