VIETNAM HAS NOT YET CONSIDERED DISTRACTED DRIVING DEMARCHE

UNCLAS HANOI 000154 SIPDIS STATE FOR OES (NCARTER-FOSTER) STATE FOR OES/STC (EPADGETT) HHS/OSSI/DSI PASS TO OGHA (JMONAHAN/ACUMMINGS) CDC PASS TO COGH (SBLOUNT),NIOSH (JHINGSTON),NCIPC (DSLEET/ADELLINGER/VKAPIL/RIKEDA) TRANSPORTATION PASS TO NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (MJEFFREY/MKOUBEK/SKIRINICH)AND FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION (ALOGIE/RBONEAU) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON SOCI ELTN UNDP UNGA VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM HAS NOT YET CONSIDERED DISTRACTED DRIVING DEMARCHE ¶1. (U) On January 27, Embassy delivered the distracted driving demarche to the Ministry of Transportation. In several follow up conversations, the Ministry of Transportation stated that it had not yet reviewed the demarche in detail, nor had it determined who in the Ministry eventually would respond. ¶2. (U) The number of Vietnamese using mobile phones continues to grow rapidly. According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, as of December 2008, Vietnam had 74.8 million mobile phone subscribers, or 86.8 per 100 inhabitants. Compared to 18.8 million subscribers (22.41 per 100) in December 2006, this reflects dramatic and rapid growth. With the numbers of motorbikes and automobiles on the roads growing at almost 20 percent annually, this means more people on more roads driving while texting or speaking on mobile phones. Though Vietnam does not keep statistics on the number of people actually texting or using mobile phones while driving, they are a common sight on Vietnamese thoroughfares. Similarly, Vietnam does not have statistics on the number of accidents, injuries or fatalities related to distracted driving. ¶3. (U) In accordance with Article 30, Section 3.c of the Law on Road Transport, using a mobile phone while driving motorcycles is illegal [Note: We do not believe there is a specific provision applicable to operators of automobiles]. However, with minimal capacity already stretched thin, Vietnamese traffic police rarely enforce these provisions. Vietnam periodically conducts general road safety campaigns, but has not focused specifically on this issue. We have checked with our contacts within the GVN and with the WHO, but have not located any research reports on the effectiveness of law enforcement and/or public awareness campaigns to reduce distracted driving. Michalak