High school students ride motorcycles and electric bikes to school.— Photo vovgiaothong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Drivers as young as 16 will be fined for riding any type of motorcycle, and tampering with license plates will carry fines of up to VNĐ26 million ($990), under a decree taking effect in mid-August.

The new measure, Decree 238, amends Decree 168 and closes a loophole that had let some underage riders avoid fines because of their vehicle's engine size.

Under the outgoing rule, drivers aged 16 to under 18 were fined VNĐ400,000 to VNĐ600,000 ($15-$23), but only for riding motorcycles with engines of 50cc or larger, or electric motorbikes with a motor output of at least 4kW.

Smaller motorcycles fell outside the penalty.

The new decree removes the threshold altogether and extends the fine to 'vehicles similar to motorcycles', meaning any underage rider on any type of motorcycle can now be fined, regardless of engine size or power output.

The decree also cracks down on license plate tampering. Car owners face fines of VNĐ20 million to VNĐ26 million ($760-$990) for offences including installing plates improperly, obscuring or altering characters, bending plates out of shape, or using materials or devices that make a plate harder to read.

Motorcyclists face fines of VNĐ4 million to VNĐ6 million ($150-$230) for the same violations.

Drivers who transport children who are under 10 years old or shorter than 1.35m without a proper child safety seat will now receive a formal warning under a separate provision, unless the vehicle is used commercially for passenger transport. — VNS