Teen boys bicycle on Vietnam expressway meant for cars

Surveillance camera footage of the Vietnam Expressway Services Engineering JSC, which manages the Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, showed that three boys rode their bicycles on the emergency lane of the expressway at 7:48 a.m. Sunday morning before turning around and exiting the road at 8:27 a.m. the same day.

The expressway connects HCMC with the neighboring provinces of Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Besides the three teen boys, some foreigners were also caught riding their bicycles on the expressway on the same morning, a representative of the expressway firm said. They were asked to leave the expressway immediately due to safety concerns.

Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists are banned from traveling on the expressway, and there are signs that clearly indicate this, the source said.

Motorbike drivers caught using the expressway face fines of VND500,000-1 million ($22-43), and cyclists VND400,000 to VND600,000.

Last month, a foreign couple were caught driving at 100 kilometers per hour in the emergency lane of the expressway.

Road crashes are a leading cause of death in Vietnam, killing almost one person every hour. More than 18,720 accidents occurred last year, killing 8,244 people and injuring nearly 14,800, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.