From this month, anyone who reports a traffic offense can receive up to 10% of the fine
January 6, 2025 15:15
- Vietnam has launched a controversial plan to improve road safety that relies on whistleblowing.
- Starting Jan. 1, anyone who anonymously reports a traffic violation and provides evidence can receive a reward of up to $200.
- Other safety measures include more cameras and fines 30 times higher than before.
Traffic police can’t be everywhere at the same time, but in recent years they’ve been helped by drivers and pedestrians who turned over camera footage of dangerous activity. In Vietnam, however, the authorities went a step further and actually paid civilians for bad-behaving road users.
Starting this month, Vietnamese citizens and organizations will be eligible to receive rewards of up to VND5 million ($200) if they provide evidence of road safety violations. The actual amount earned may vary because it is 10% of the penalty amount, so some payouts will be much less.
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The Vietnamese government says the scheme will make streets less dangerous and claims the money raised through additional fines, plus 30% raised through the auction of license plates, will be used to further improve road safety. The cash will be used to fund the purchase of vehicles and equipment, develop information systems, maintain traffic databases, support congestion management surveys and pay overnight traffic officers, vietnam.com Report.
Other safety measures introduced simultaneously include the installation of surveillance cameras, increased fines and tougher penalties for traffic violations. For example, the fine for running a red light has increased from VND4-6 million to VND18-20 million (US$160-790), while some misdemeanors, such as obstructing traffic inspections, improperly securing goods or ignoring police instructions, will be fined. Today, offenders pay 30 times more than before.
From this month, when drivers are fined, they will also be notified via the VNeTraffic smartphone app (the same one used to notify police of violations), and we can imagine expansion to other countries soon.
The rewards program strongly incentivizes people to send in a video of themselves rather than just tut-tutting after 30 seconds and forgetting about it, although some Vietnamese may be disappointed to learn that one man claimed to have made VND50 million ( $ 1,970 ) viral story ) reporting a breach within a day is not true.
Yes, the whole idea of paying people for information does seem a bit dirty, but it sounds like Vietnam needs to take drastic action. Police are fighting against those who frequently speed, run red lights, drive in the wrong direction, back up on highways and cause disturbances, Vietnam Net Global said.
To see the chaos on Vietnam’s roads, watch the video below. This photo was taken by a motorcyclist and, fittingly, begins with a shot of someone riding across the sidewalk to cut traffic off at an intersection.
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