VietNamNet Bridge - The compulsory helmet law will be applied to electric bike riders soon, a representative from the Traffic Police Department said Friday in a meeting with relevant agencies in 14 southern provinces and cities.

Electric scooters and bikes will also have to be registered, Road and Railway Traffic Police Department Deputy Head Pham Minh Tuan said.

Tay Ninh Province Transport Department Head Cao Thi Nhan said riders of electric bikes and scooters, which can travel between 40 and 60 kilometers an hour, could sustain severe brain trauma when involved in accidents.

The compulsory helmet law, which came into effect on December 15 last year, applied to riders of motorbikes and electric scooters.

Under the law, violators will have to pay fines ranging from VND100,000 to VND200,000 (US$6.20-12.40).

Most of the representatives from 14 provinces and cities in the Eastern Southern and Mekong Delta regions proposed the Transport Ministry investigate an alternative to modified three- and four-wheel vehicles, which will be banned from June.

The delegates said most of the people using the modified vehicles to earn a living were poor and could not afford to replace their vehicles with small trucks that cost between VND100 million and VND120 million ($6,200-7,400).

Small trucks were also too big for some narrow roads and bridges in the region, they said.

Representatives of the Finance Ministry said a policy to assist owners of the self-modified vehicles would be released early next month.

(Source: TN)