Despite the ban, many foreign tourists in Vietnam are provided with motorbike rental services, which has stirred public concern after a recent fatal accident in HCM City.
On the morning of September 21, a 24-year-old American man named Fluery Otavio Augusto Formigoni caused an accident at the intersection of Dien Bien Phu and Dinh Tien Hoang in HCM City. The man died on the spot and injured two women.
Although the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has already asked tourism departments nationwide to tighten control over motorbike rental services to foreign tourists, the market is still flourishing in many places.
Motorbike rental company
Very few foreign drivers have valid Vietnamese driver's licenses, causing a problem for motorbike rental companies. As the owner of one motorbike rental company in HCM City explained, “It’s impossible to comply with the regulation if we are to cover our business costs. There are almost no foreign tourists with Vietnamese driver's licenses."
Last August, the Vietnam Administration of Tourism issued a regulation requiring motorbike rental companies not to lease vehicles to foreign tourists unless they they can produce a standard driver's license. Still, it is quite easy, for example, for a foreign tourist in HCM City to rent a motorbike for a trip to Vung Tau with a deposit of VND5 million.
In cases where foreign tourists cause serious traffic accidents and are brought to court, punishments are often lenient.
Attorney Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, from the HCM City Lawyer Association, said, “In our court system, foreign drivers are often given light penalties as they do not intentionally cause damages and often provide compensation to the victim’s family.”
Nguyen Thanh Cong, another attorney from the association, said the rental service providers should also be held accountable.