Comments on: Vietnam wears a helmet!

By: Stacey L

Stacey L — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:14:46 +0000

I just got back from Vietnam and fell in love with the helmuts. Laziness stopped me from bringing a bunch back to the United States. And also assumed they weren’t up to the safety codes enforced here. The government only fines people over 16 years of age in Vietnam though, so I noticed that all the children still ride on the bikes with their parents with no protective gear at all. I found that strange and very scary.

By: offroadvietnam

offroadvietnam — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:19:33 +0000

Vietnam has many types of helmets. Most come from China and the quality is not good and this is the main reason accident rate is still very high.

By: Mon M. Santelices

Mon M. Santelices — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:38:07 +0000

Great feature, John! The subject of helmet usage is always an appropriate one for riding related discussions and I’m glad that Vietnam is actively pursuing this. We are ahead of them in having a “Helmet Law” but, as usual, here in the Philippines the main pronlem is not the lack of laws, regulations and policies (we have a lot of these, in fact)…it’s the proper and sustained implementation of these laws.

By: Vietnam wears a helmet! - Motorcycle Philippines

Vietnam wears a helmet! - Motorcycle Philippines — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:10:18 +0000

[...] On December 15, 2007, wearing a helmet became mandatory (Government Decree Number 32 – Mandatory Helmet Law) to all motorbike riders in Vietnam. My recent visit there is proof that indeed, everyone now wears a helmet there and not just in Ho Chi Minh but in the rural areas as well. Our tour guide said not everyone is happy with the new law but all are forced to comply than pay the fine of 200,000 dong or roughly about U$D12. And since the “coolness” factor is a big deal for most Vietnamese riders, some of their helmets (they used to jokingly refer to these protective headgears as “rice cooker”) don’t look like helmets at all! For a rider like me, Vietnam roads was practically an endless showroom of fancy helmets money could buy. There are ones that are shaped like baseball caps, cowboy hats, bowler, sola topee, and knitted beanies. There are colorful visors made of cloth attachable to a plain-looking helmets. At one time, I think I even saw a helmet that looks like the familiar Vietnamese straw hat. You name it, they have it!See some samples here. [...]