Traffic police in Hoi An, a tourist city in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam, have heightened their patrol and control of traffic, with dozens of foreigners found breaching traffic safety regulations while riding a motorbike.

Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Vuong Quoc Hoi, head of the city’s police agency, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday that among traffic violators were several foreigners who work, live, and travel in the locale.

It is not uncommon to observe foreigners in Da Nang City, the central Vietnam capital, and Hoi An Ancient Town riding motorcycles on the streets, with a notable number of them neglecting to wear helmets while riding.

Lots of young foreigners are often seen riding a motorbike on the seaside road connecting Da Nang with Hoi An without a crash helmet on their heads, which is one of the traffic safety offenses in Vietnam.

Nguyen Tan Thanh, a souvenir shop owner in Hoi An Ancient Town, mentioned that he had previously reminded many foreign riders to wear a helmet and cautioned them against running red lights.

“Some of them happily thanked me, but many others felt irritated,” Thanh said.

Christ James, an Australian who is living in Hoi An, noted that after visiting Vietnam, many overseas guests were not accustomed to riding motorcycles.

James said that some young foreigners believed they would not face penalties from traffic police while using roads in Vietnam.

However, James added that adhering to traffic rules, such as wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle, becomes second nature for foreigners who live in the Southeast Asian nation for an extended period.

Hoi An welcomes a large number of international visitors each day, and is home to 300 families hailing from many nations worldwide.

The city’s traffic police have tightened street patrols as many foreigners disobey traffic safety regulations, according to Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Hoi.

Multiple checkpoints have been set up on key routes in the city.

Apart from booking road users who fail to wear a helmet, traffic police officers are also stopping riders to conduct a breath test, where drivers are asked to blow into a device known as a breathalyzer through a plastic tube to determine whether there is any hint of alcohol in their breath.

In addition to sanctioning foreigners who violate traffic safety regulations, police also penalize motorcycle-renting service providers who hand over motorbikes to the traffic violators.

Traffic police officers in Hoi An have taken action by booking and fining 46 foreigners for various violations, including failure to wear a crash helmet, exceeding the prescribed number of passengers, disregarding traffic light signals, and entering restricted roads.

Administrative fines have been levied on 19 owners of motorcycle rental stores in the city.

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