Vietnam, renowned for its chaotic roads, launched a program this year encouraging residents to anonymously report traffic offenses in exchange for tidy sums.
People who report an offense confirmed by the police will be able to pocket up to 10% of the amount of the fine, with a ceiling of five million dong (190 euros).
Their identity will be kept secret “to protect their privacy,” according to the law. So far, no reward has been paid, according to state media citing police.
The authorities have also recorded a drastic increase in the amount of fines.
Running a red light on a two-wheeler now costs more than six million dong (230 euros), six times more than before. This is equivalent to a little less than the average monthly income which is around 7.7 million dong (290 euros).
For a car, the fine amounts to nearly 20 million dongs, compared to six million previously (760 euros). The amount of fines has also doubled for using a cell phone while driving.
“I’m scared now. I started strictly obeying the rules,” Nguyen Quoc Phong, who works in Hanoi for Grab, the equivalent of Uber in Southeast Asia, told AFP.
On his two-wheeler, he confessed to regularly burning red lights.
A Hanoi police officer told AFP he saw several offending drivers crying after being fined.
Vietnam has more than 77 million registered two-wheelers, for around 100 million inhabitants, one of the highest rates on the planet.
In 2024, road accidents will kill around thirty people per day, mainly in large cities, where infrastructure is inadequate and where the Highway Code is not respected.
