Cablegate: Vietnam has Not yet Considered Distracted Driving Demarche

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RR RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTRO
DE RUEHHI #0154 0391023
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081020Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0844
INFO ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0450
RULSJGA/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC

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

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