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Vietnam road rules for visitors: side of the road, speed limits by road and vehicle in km/h and mph, the zero-alcohol law and which IDP is valid.
This explainer sets out the road rules a visitor actually needs in Vietnam: which side you drive on, the default speed limit for your road and vehicle class, the alcohol law, and whether the driving licence in your pocket is recognised. Speed figures come from Circular 31/2019/TT-BGTVT, the alcohol rule from Article 9(2) of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety No. 36/2024/QH15, and the penalty bands from Decree 168/2024/ND-CP. It also settles the question most travellers get wrong: Vietnam is a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention and not to the 1949 Geneva Convention, so a Geneva permit is worthless here.
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Vietnam sets different rural limits for cars, heavy vehicles, articulated trucks and motorcycles - the table shows yours, in km/h and mph.
Tells you plainly that only a 1968 Vienna permit counts, and what your options are if yours is a 1949 Geneva one.
Every figure carries the circular, law or decree article it comes from, so you can check it.
Only a permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Vietnam acceded to that convention, in force for the country since August 2015, and never joined the 1949 Geneva Convention - so the Geneva permit issued by AAA in the United States, by JAF in Japan, by the Australian and New Zealand motoring clubs and by Indian RTOs has no legal standing in Vietnam. Holders of those licences either use a driver, or exchange the licence for a Vietnamese one, which needs a visa or residence card valid for at least three months.
Zero. Article 9(2) of Law 36/2024/QH15 prohibits operating a vehicle with any concentration of alcohol in the blood or breath, so there is no permitted allowance at all. Decree 168/2024/ND-CP then grades the penalty in three bands, starting at up to 0.25 mg per litre of breath (50 mg per 100 mL of blood) and rising above 0.4 mg per litre, with fines in the millions of dong, a licence suspension of ten months or more and roadside impoundment of the vehicle.
Inside a built-up area, 60 km/h on a road with a central median or two or more lanes each way and 50 km/h on every other road. Outside built-up areas, Circular 31/2019/TT-BGTVT scales the limit by vehicle: a car or light truck gets 90 km/h on a divided road and 80 km/h on an ordinary two-way road, heavier vehicles 80 and 70, articulated trucks 70 and 60, and motorcycles 70 and 60. Mopeds of 50 cm3 or less and electric bikes are capped at 40 km/h everywhere. Expressways carry a signed limit that may never exceed 120 km/h.
The right, with the steering wheel on the left, the same as neighbouring China, Laos and Cambodia but the opposite of Thailand. Overtake on the left. The bigger adjustment for most visitors is not the side but the density of two-wheelers: traffic merges continuously rather than taking turns, so a steady predictable speed with early signals works far better than braking for gaps. This is general information rather than legal advice - check current requirements with the Department of Transport or your embassy.