How severe is the penalty for driving cars and motorbikes on the sidewalk?
In big cities where traffic jams often occur, many people are willing to ride their motorbikes, or even their cars, onto the sidewalk. This behavior not only endangers pedestrians but also damages the traffic infrastructure.
In reality, it is not uncommon to see motorbikes and even cars brazenly... speeding on the sidewalk as a solution to traffic jams.
Riding on the sidewalk poses a high risk of traffic accidents due to conflicts and dangers to pedestrians, the elderly, and children. Cars and motorbikes "climbing the sidewalk" also destroy the urban beauty and greatly affect the structure of the sidewalk.
In addition, driving on the sidewalk is also a violation of the law. According to the 2008 Road Traffic Law, traffic participants must drive on the right side of the road in the direction they are traveling; drive in the correct lane, on the prescribed road section and must comply with the road signal system.
In Circular 04/2008/TT-BXD, sidewalks (or pavements, street pavements) are parts of urban roads, serving mainly pedestrians and combining them with the arrangement of urban technical infrastructure systems along the route. Thus, sidewalks are not the part of the road reserved for cars and motorbikes.
Therefore, regardless of the reason for traffic jams or any other reason, except for going up the sidewalk to get home, driving a car or motorbike on the sidewalk is against the law and can be severely punished by the traffic police according to the provisions of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 123/2021/ND-CP).
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Drivers who illegally drive on sidewalks can be fined up to VND6 million. Photo: Otofun |
Accordingly, Clause 5, Article 5 of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP stipulates a fine of 4-6 million VND for drivers of cars and similar vehicles who "drive on the sidewalk, except for driving on the sidewalk to enter a house".
For motorbikes, Clause 3, Article 6 of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP also stipulates that the act of "driving a vehicle on the sidewalk, except for the case of driving a vehicle across the sidewalk to enter a house" will be fined from 400,000 to 600,000 VND.
The above fines for cars and motorbikes are considered quite high and are enough to deter. However, in reality, vehicles that openly drive on sidewalks are rarely punished for this violation. Many opinions say that authorities such as traffic police need to increase patrols and control, apply penalties through the camera system to promptly prevent and strictly handle the above dangerous behavior.
