Confiscated motorbikes pile up as Vietnam gets tough on drink driving

Motorcycles, the preferred mode of transport in Vietnam, are piling up in impound lots in Ho Chi Minh City as it becomes more cost-effective for some owners to abandon them than to pay the fines to get them back.

The city, Vietnam's financial centre, has become more aggressive in targeting drink driving in recent years by raising fines and confiscating vehicles. These fines are now often higher than the value of the vehicles, which many drivers are not reclaiming, officials say.

Now, the police are wondering what to do with them.

Some residents are so frustrated by this that they are airing complaints publicly, even though criticising the ruling Communist Party can be risky in Vietnam.

Mr Nguyen Khang, 30, who works at a bank in Ho Chi Minh City, said an inefficient and needlessly punitive system was holding motorbikes "hostage".

"The authorities understand this. But they have not yet found a more holistic approach," he said.

The zero-tolerance campaign against drink driving echoes previous efforts in Vietnam to promote public order - by, say, clearing food vendors from the streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City that were widely perceived as heavy-handed.

Professor Hue-Tam Jamme, an expert on urban development in Vietnam, said the abandoned motorbikes reflect a transition: As more Vietnamese join the middle class and buy their first cars, the two-wheelers are becoming less essential in a country that is widely known for its motorbike traffic.