Vietnam: Penalties for installing customized vehicle lights

Vietnam: Penalties for installing customized vehicle lights (Source: Internet)

1. The act of installing customized vehicle lights

According to Article 8 of the Law on Road Traffic 2008 (amended by the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcoholic Beverages 2019), the following prohibited acts are regulated:

- Destroying roads, road bridges, tunnels and ferry landing stages, light signals, marker posts, signs, dome mirrors, median strips, water drainage systems and other works and equipment of road traffic infrastructure.

- Illegally digging, drilling and cutting roads; illegally placing or erecting hurdles on roads; placing and spreading pointed objects, pouring lubricants on roads; illegally leaving materials, wastes and garbage on roads;

Illegally opening passages and linking to main roads; illegally encroaching, occupying or using land of roads and road safety corridors; opening manhole covers without permission, illegally dismantling, removing or falsifying road works.

- Illegally using roadbeds, roadsides and pavements.

- Putting motor vehicles and special-use machines which fail to satisfy technical safety and environmental protection criteria into operation on roads.

- Changing the chassis, components and accessories of motor vehicles in order to temporarily achieve their technical criteria before taking them for inspection.

- Taking part in, cheering or organizing illegal vehicle races, driving vehicles recklessly on crowded streets or in zigzags.

- Operate vehicles under the influence of alcohol.

- Operating an automobile, tractor or special-use vehicle on the road while there is a concentration of alcohol in the operator’s blood or breath.

Operating a motorcycle or moped while there is a concentration of alcohol of over 50 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood or 0.25 milligrams per 1 litter of breathed air.

- Operating a motor vehicle without a driver license as prescribed.

Operating a special-use vehicle on the road without a certificate of training in knowledge about the road traffic law, a license or certificate of operation of special-use vehicle.

- Assigning one’s motor vehicle or special-use vehicle to another person ineligible for operating vehicles in road traffic.

- Operating a motor vehicle at a speed beyond the prescribed speed limit, recklessly passing or overtaking.

- Honking and opening the throttle continuously; honking during the time from 22:00 hrs to 05:00 hrs, blowing the hoot, using driving lamps in urban and populous areas, except for priority vehicles moving on duty as provided for by this Law.

- Fitting and using the horn and lamps at variance with the manufacturer design for each type of motor vehicles; using audible devices badly affecting traffic order and safety and public order.

- Transporting goods banned from circulation, illegally transporting, or failing to fully observe regulations on transportation of, dangerous cargoes or wild animals.

- Threatening, offending and fighting over passengers; compelling passengers to use services against their will; employing transshipment, disembarking passengers or committing other acts to evade detection of the carriage of cargoes or passengers in excess of prescribed limits.

- Conducting commercial transportation by car when failing to meet all business conditions as prescribed.

- Absconding after causing accidents in order to shirk responsibility.

- Deliberately refusing to rescue victims of traffic accidents when having conditions to do so.

- Infringing upon the lives, health and property of traffic accident victims and causers.

- Taking advantage of traffic accidents to assault, intimidate, incite, pressure, foment disorder or obstruct the handling of traffic accidents.

- Abusing one’s position, power or profession to breach the road traffic law.

- Illegally manufacturing, using or buying or selling number plates of motor vehicles and special-use vehicles.

- Acts of breaching road traffic rules and other acts endangering road users and vehicles in road traffic.

From the above provisions, the act of installing illuminants not in accordance with the manufacturer's design is strictly prohibited.

2. Penalties for installation of customized vehicle lights

Arbitrary installation of customized vehicle lights not in accordance with the manufacturer's design is a prohibited act, so it may be administratively sanctioned under Vietnam's Decree 100/2019/ND-CP with the following fines:

* For motorbikes: A fine ranging from VND 100,000 to VND 200,000 shall be imposed for Operating a vehicle without a lamp with low beam and a high beam, or without a functional and conformable one;

(According to point e, Clause 1, Article 17 of Vietnam's Decree 100/2019/ND-CP)

* For cars: A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for operating the vehicle without a horn, plate lamp, brake lamp, or a mirror on one or both sides, or without a functional one;

(According to point a, clause 1, Article 16 of Vietnam's Decree 100/2019/ND-CP (amended in Vietnam's Decree 123/2021/ND-CP))

Thus, the act of arbitrarily installing customized vehicle lights can be fined from VND 100,000 to VND 200,000 for motorbikes or from VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 for cars.

Quoc Dat

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