Holiday coach passengers fined VND375,000 for not wearing seat belts

Passengers traveling by coach during Vietnam’s September 2 holiday faced VND375,000 fines when traffic police found them riding without seat belts, while the drivers carrying them were fined VND900,000.

On August 31, traffic police increased checks on passenger transport vehicles using expressways. Officers combined direct inspections with footage from onboard cameras to identify passengers who were not wearing available seat belts.

At 11:10 a.m., officers stopped a car at Km208 on the Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet Expressway. Camera footage showed that two passengers had not fastened their seat belts at 10:46 a.m., while the vehicle was moving. Police issued records against both passengers and driver L.D.T., 45, from Ho Chi Minh City.

Earlier, at 10:55 a.m., officers found a 16-seat vehicle driven by L.V.B., 43, from Dong Thap, carrying two unbuckled passengers. The passengers and driver were again cited. Police reported further violations on the Ho Chi Minh City-Van Phong Expressway.

Traffic police said seat belts can reduce the risk of passengers being thrown from their seats or suffering impact injuries during sudden braking, collisions or other unexpected incidents. Officers urged passengers to buckle up whenever a seat is equipped with a belt and asked drivers to remind them, particularly on high-speed roads.

The checks also covered driver-cabin monitoring cameras. At 12:15 a.m. on August 31, officers stopped a passenger vehicle at the Long Phuoc toll station on the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway and found that its driver-monitoring device had been installed but did not function while the vehicle was moving. The driver received a VND1.5 million fine.