From August 15, 2026, the regulations on penalties for people from 16 years old to under 18 years old driving motorbikes will have a notable change according to Decree 238/2026/ND-CP of the Government.
According to legal regulations, the term "motorbike" is often used by people to collectively refer to two-wheeled vehicles with engines. However, the Road Traffic Safety Law of 2024 does not stipulate the concept of "motorbike" but classifies it into motorbikes and mopeds.
Specifically, according to point g, clause 1, Article 34 of the Road Traffic Safety Law 2024, motorbikes are two- or three-wheeled vehicles with a design speed not exceeding 50 km/h; if using a thermal engine, the capacity does not exceed 50 cm3, and if using an electric motor, the power does not exceed 4 kW.
Meanwhile, according to point e, clause 1, Article 34, motorcycles are two- or three-wheeled vehicles driven by engines, not belonging to the group of motorbikes; for three-wheeled vehicles, the body weight does not exceed 400 kg.
On June 26, 2026, the Government issued Decree 238/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of regulations of Decree 168/2024/ND-CP on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of road traffic order and safety. The new Decree takes effect from August 15, 2026.
Notably, Article 6 of Decree 238/2026/ND-CP has amended point a, clause 4, Article 18 of Decree 168/2024/ND-CP. Accordingly, people from 16 years old to under 18 years old driving motorbikes and similar vehicles will be fined from 400,000 VND to 600,000 VND.
Compared to previous regulations, the new point is that the management agency has removed the condition on cylinder capacity from 50 cm3 or more for motorcycles, as well as removed the condition on engine power from 4 kW or more for vehicles classified as motorcycles.
This means that from August 15, 2026, people under 18 years old driving all types of motorbikes or vehicles similar to motorbikes are subject to the above-mentioned penalty level.
However, people also need to note that this amended regulation only applies to motorbikes and similar vehicles.
For motorbikes under 50 cm3 or electric motorbikes classified by law as motorbikes, people from 16 years old are still allowed to drive if they fully meet the conditions according to the provisions of law. Decree 238/2026/ND-CP does not expand the scope of penalties to this group of vehicles.
