You can't put your child in the front seat—a prep guide for Vietnam's new traffic rules taking effect in July

On July 1, 2026, a set of new traffic rules took effect at once in Vietnam. There are two pillars: mandating safety devices (such as child seats) when carrying children under 10 and under 1.35 m tall in a car, and reorganizing limits on drivers' driving hours. The revised decree setting penalties takes effect on August 15. In other words, we're now in an in-between period where 'the rules are in motion, but the real application of penalties is six weeks away.' For people raising children in Vietnam and expats who travel by company car, this is the change most directly tied to daily life this summer. Here's a rundown of what changes how, and what to prepare by August 15.

The big picture of the new traffic rules that took effect on July 1

According to VnExpress's roundup, this changeLaw 118/2025and it started running all at once from July 1, based on Decree 241/2026 and Decree 238/2026 (amending Decree 168/2024, which sets penalties). The main items are as follows.

• Mandatory use of safety devices (such as child seats) for children under 10 and under 1.35 m tall
• A reworking of driving-time limits. Built around a "ban on driving more than four hours straight" (except in force majeure), with weekly working hours brought in line with the Labor Code
• Mandatory in-cabin cameras for passenger transport vehicles
• Simplified procedures that don't treat fitting genuine parts as "modification"
• Pickup trucks with a payload under 950 kg and five seats or fewer are brought under the same traffic restrictions as passenger cars
• Abolishing the simulator test from the driver's license exam

In Vietnam, July is a month when rule changes cluster, and this yearCompleting vehicle inspection procedures via VNeIDandNew rules on power banks in the cabinhave also begun at the same time. Among them, these traffic rules are different in the quality of their impact, in that they change an everyday action — how you seat children.

'Under 10 and under 135 cm' — reading the child-seat rule precisely

It applies to those "under 10 years old" and "under 1.35 m tall"Children who meet bothis the point. Under the letter of the law, even a nine-year-old is exempt if their height exceeds 135 cm. The obligation has two parts.

• Children must not be seated in the same row as the driver (the front seat). Vehicles with only one row of seats are exempt
• Use a safety device suited to the child's build. Three are accepted: child seats, booster seats, and children's seat belts

What tends to get overlooked is the exemption clause. The requirement to use a safety device "excludes passenger-transport-business vehicles," so commercial vehicles like taxis are outside the device requirement. The front-seat ban, on the other hand, has no exemption for commercial vehicles. This distinction ties directly into the Grab discussion below.

Penalties change by period. Organized, it's as follows.

What may seem surprising is that from August 15 the penalty for not using a safety device actually lightens to a 'warning.' It reads as a soft landing that acknowledges Vietnam's reality, where child-seat adoption is still low. Seating a child in the front, however, remains clearly subject to a fine after August 15. The priority — 'we'll grant leeway on the device, but don't seat them in the most dangerous spot' — shows through the decree's design.

What to do by August 15 — a checklist for residents with children

Regardless of how heavy or light the penalty, the provisions themselves are already in effect from July 1. Preparing in the following order is efficient.

Cutting how often you use a car for getting around the city in the first place is one answer too. In Ho Chi Minh City,134 bus routes went free from Julymaking the option of shifting short-distance travel with children to public transport more realistic.

How company cars, taxis and Grab are treated

What expats should watch is the company car more than the private car. Since a company car is not a passenger-transport business vehicle, if you carry children for things like family pickups, the duty to use safety devices applies in full. “It’s the company’s car, so it doesn’t apply” does not hold. The surest move for the admin side is to keep child seats stocked in pickup vehicles as standard equipment.

The limits on driving hours also affect company-car operations. On top of a ban on driving more than four hours straight, the previous 'up to 10 hours a day' framework was reorganized into working-hours management compliant with labor law. For long-distance trips like Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat, you'll need to rebuild operation plans that build in rest stops and driver rotation so they align with your work rules.

What about taxis and Grab? As noted, because the law exempts passenger-transport-business vehicles from the safety-device requirement, the natural reading is that a hailed car without a child seat is not immediately a violation. That said, we have not been able to confirm operator practices at this point, such as whether you can request a child-friendly vehicle in the Grab app (needs checking). Legally safe or not, the risk in a collision is the same, so a family that travels by taxi a lot can buy peace of mind beyond the requirement by keeping one portable booster on hand. Note that since the front-seat ban has no exemption for commercial vehicles, children ride in the back in taxis too, as a rule.

"So when exactly do the fines start?"—local reports and the authorities' moves

In the days right after enforcement, the confusion over the timing of penalties comes through clearly in the reporting. Tien Phong and LuatVietnam ran articles squarely explaining "will July 1 to August 14 also be subject to fines?", and Tuoi Tre, following the signing of Decree 238/2026, reported the easing side with "changed to a warning from August 15." There were also articles in which the Traffic Police Department (CSGT) explained how the penalties apply in answer to readers' questions - a picture of the authorities themselves scrambling to put out the fire of misunderstanding.

The confusion itself is a lesson for residents. In Vietnam, it is not unusual for the “effective date of the law” and the “effective date of the penalty decree” to be out of sync, and following only the news headlines can leave you with the opposite understanding. For this case, remembering three points is enough in practice: the rules are effective from July 1, the penalty framework switches over on August 15, but seating a child in the front is fined throughout.

Summary — don't read August 15 as a 'grace period'

Just because the penalty for the safety device is easing to a warning, waiting and seeing until August 15 is not advisable. The rule is already in force, enforcement during the grace period varies, and above all the front-seat ban remains, with a fine attached. The "10 years / 135 cm" standard, broader than Japan's requirement (under 6), draws the line by build as well as age, staying true to the original goal of child safety.

There are three things to do this weekend: measure your child's height, check your car's ISOFIX compatibility and order a device, and make "kids in the back" a shared rule for the household and your driver. If your company has company cars, finishing a review of the driving-hours clause in the operating rules within July will let you face August 15 calmly.

Sources

• VnExpress: Loạt quy định mới về giao thông từ 1/7
• Tien Phong: Từ 1/7 – 14/8, tài xế chở trẻ em không có thiết bị an toàn phù hợp vẫn bị xử phạt tiền
• Tuoi Tre: Chính thức sửa Nghị định 168 – phạt cảnh cáo từ 15-8
• LuatVietnam: Từ 01/7 đến 14/8/2026, thiếu ghế an toàn cho trẻ em trên ô tô có bị phạt đến 1 triệu đồng?
• Autopro: Cục CSGT giải đáp về xử phạt liên quan đến thiết bị an toàn cho trẻ em trên ô tô