Fearing heavy fines, people strictly obey stopping at red lights

Recorded on Ring Road 3 (Pham Hung), Duong Dinh Nghe, Nguyen Nhu Uyen (Hanoi), people strictly obey traffic light signals.

Mr. Tran Trung Duc, an office worker on Duong Dinh Nghe Street, said: “Every day I go through Ring Road 3 (Pham Hung) to turn onto Duong Dinh Nghe. This is a very crowded area with many types of vehicles. In the past, many people often ran red lights, even going in the wrong direction. However, since January 1, 2025, when very high fines for traffic violations were applied, people have strictly complied. The current fine for running a red light is up to 20 million VND for cars and 6 million VND for motorbikes."

Anh Duc added: “When I arrived at the Pham Hung - Duong Dinh Nghe intersection, even though the road was quite empty and the traffic light turned yellow, I still decided to stop and wait for the red light. I didn’t want to take any risks because if I crossed the yellow light incorrectly, I could be severely punished.”

Mr. Nguyen Anh The, who works in Cau Giay, also agreed: “I go to work by car every day. In the past, when I stopped at red lights, I was often upset because many motorbikes recklessly overtook and cut in front of other cars. I think the current strict fine is very necessary to deter and change people’s behavior.”

Mr. The added: “Previously, when Decree 100 was newly issued with strict penalties on alcohol concentration, people were also worried. However, after a while, they gradually formed the habit of not driving when drinking alcohol. I hope that with the current high penalty for running a red light, people's traffic awareness will continue to improve.”

Below are images taken by reporters at traffic light areas in Hanoi on the morning of January 2:

According to information from the Traffic Police Department, on January 1, 2025, the Road Traffic Law and Decree 168/2024/ND-CP officially took effect. On the first day, the majority of people strictly followed traffic rules, especially traffic light signals. However, more than 13,000 cases of traffic safety violations were still detected and handled.

On January 1, there were 51 traffic accidents nationwide, killing 28 people and injuring 35. Of these, 50 road accidents occurred, killing 27 people and injuring 35; 1 railway accident occurred, killing 1 person; and no waterway accidents occurred.

Traffic police in localities inspected, detected and handled 13,591 violations, imposing fines of VND27 billion 978 million. At the same time, the authorities detained 82 cars, 4,050 motorbikes and 111 other vehicles, revoking 2,603 ​​driving licenses. Common violations included: alcohol concentration (2,789 cases), speeding (3,105 cases), overloading (241 cases), exceeding the size limit (34 cases), and drug-related violations (43 cases).

Highway traffic patrol teams under the Traffic Police Department inspected and recorded 195 violations, imposed an estimated fine of VND684.8 million, revoked driving licenses in 94 cases, and temporarily detained 4 vehicles.