As of January 1st, 2025, Decree 168/2024 on administrative sanctions for violations in the field of road traffic order and safety officially took effect. Decree 168 amends and supplements several articles of Decree 100/2020 and Decree 123/2021.
One notable new point of Decree 168 is the deduction of points from the driver’s license when a driver violates traffic laws. According to this decree, a driver’s license has 12 points. When a driver violates traffic laws, a minimum of 2 points and a maximum of 10 points will be deducted from their license.
Decree 168 also stipulates that a deduction of 10 points is for violations of a moderate degree. Meanwhile, for more severe violations, the driver’s license will be revoked for 10-12 months or 22-24 months.
Drivers who violate traffic laws will have a maximum of 10 points deducted from their license (illustrative image)
If all points are deducted, the driver will no longer be allowed to operate a vehicle of that license type. After at least 6 months from the date of losing all points, the driver can take a legal knowledge test to restore the points on their license. A driver’s license that still has points remaining and has not had any points deducted within 12 months from the date of the last deduction will have all 12 points restored.
To avoid losing most of the points on their license, drivers should avoid the following violations.
| Violation | Fine (in millions of VND) |
| Violations related to alcohol and stimulant levels | |
| Blood alcohol concentration exceeds 50 mg to 80 mg/100 ml or breath alcohol concentration exceeds 0.25 mg to 0.4 mg/1 liter. | 18-20 |
| Attitude and behavior violations when participating in traffic | |
| Driving in the wrong direction, reversing, turning around on the expressway (except for emergency priority vehicles on duty) | 30-40 |
| Vehicle owner puts up a license plate that does not match the vehicle registration certificate or uses a license plate not issued by a competent authority. | 20-26 |
| Failure to comply with the request to check the load, payload, vehicle dimensions, or the transport of super-long and super-heavy goods by an official; transferring or using other tricks to avoid detection of overloaded or oversized vehicles. | 40-50 |
| Violations that cause traffic accidents | |
| Driving without observing, slowing down, or stopping to ensure safety. | 20-22 |
| Driving above the speed limit. | 20-22 |
| Stopping, parking, turning around, reversing, avoiding, overtaking, changing direction, or changing lanes incorrectly. | 20-22 |
| Failure to stay in the correct lane, maintain a safe distance between vehicles, or obey signs prohibiting entry. | 20-22 |
| Disobeying traffic signals, lane markings, and road signs. | 20-22 |
| Failing to signal when stopping or parking, or when leaving a stopped or parked position. | 20-22 |
| Failure to use hazard lights or place warning signs in case of vehicle breakdown or other unavoidable circumstances that require parking and occupying part of the road or parking in a prohibited area. | 20-22 |
| Failure to attach warning signs in front of a towed vehicle, behind a towed vehicle, or on a towed trailer; driving a trailer without warning signs. | 20-22 |
| Using a horn between 10 PM of the previous day and 5 AM of the following day in residential areas or near medical facilities. | 20-22 |
| Failure to yield at intersections. | 20-22 |
| Continuous use of the horn or revving the engine in residential areas or near medical facilities (except for priority vehicles on duty) | 20-22 |
| Failure to use headlights from 6 PM of the previous day to 6 AM of the following day, or when there is fog, smoke, dust, rain, or other adverse weather conditions that limit visibility. | 20-22 |
| Driving a vehicle that is towing another vehicle or object (except in the case of towing a trailer, semi-trailer, or another motor vehicle or specialized vehicle that cannot run on its own); pushing another vehicle or object with a motor vehicle; towing a trailer or semi-trailer while also towing another trailer or vehicle or object; failure to securely connect the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle when towing. | 20-22 |
| Failure to use low-beam headlights when driving in a tunnel. | 20-22 |
| Driving below the minimum speed limit on a road with a posted minimum speed. | 20-22 |
| Driving slower than other vehicles in the same direction without staying in the right lane, except when other vehicles are exceeding the speed limit. | 20-22 |
| Failing to yield to oncoming traffic when driving on a narrow road, steep road, or encountering an obstacle. | 20-22 |
| Failure to comply with regulations when entering or exiting an expressway; driving in the emergency lane or on the shoulder of an expressway; failure to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead when driving on an expressway. | 20-22 |
| Driving a vehicle not authorized to use warning signals or devices. | 20-22 |
| Using a mobile phone or other electronic devices while driving, except when using a hands-free device. | 20-22 |
| Failure to slow down or stop and yield when exiting from a non-priority road to a priority road, or from a branch road to a main road. | 20-22 |
| Failure to slow down and yield to oncoming traffic when entering a roundabout without priority signs, or failure to yield to traffic from the left when entering a roundabout with priority signs. | 20-22 |
| Opening the car door without ensuring safety. | 20-22 |
| Driving a four-wheeled passenger or cargo vehicle with an engine into an expressway. | 20-22 |
| Disobeying traffic light signals. | 20-22 |
| Disobeying the orders or directions of a traffic controller or a person controlling traffic. | 20-22 |
| Driving in the wrong direction. | 20-22 |
| Violations related to the transport of passengers or goods | |
| Driving a bus or similar vehicle with more than 100% of the allowed number of passengers. |
400,000 – 600,000 VND/excess passenger 1-2 million VND/excess passenger for buses operating long-distance routes over 300 km. |
| Driving a vehicle (including trailer and semi-trailer) with a total weight exceeding the allowed weight by more than 150%. | 8-12 |
| Driving a vehicle (including trailer and semi-trailer) carrying a load exceeding the allowed weight by more than 150%. | 8-12 |
| Causing a traffic accident by stacking cargo on the roof of the cab, stacking cargo that causes the vehicle to lean, or failing to secure the rear and side doors of the cargo compartment while driving. | 30-35 |
| Causing a traffic accident by transporting cargo that is a means of transport, machinery, equipment, or cargo in the form of a pillar without proper securing, or transporting a container without using a locking mechanism, or with a locking mechanism but the container still shifts during transport. | 30-35 |
| Vehicle owner drives a vehicle with a license plate that does not match the vehicle registration certificate or uses a license plate not issued by a competent authority. | 20-26 |
| Vehicle owner drives a vehicle carrying a load exceeding the allowed weight by more than 150%. | 65-75 |
| Vehicle owner drives a vehicle (including trailer and semi-trailer) with a total weight exceeding the allowed weight by more than 150%. | 65-75 |
| Vehicle owner drives a vehicle on a route longer than 300 km with more than 100% of the allowed number of passengers. | 2-4 million VND/excess passenger |
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