Traffic safety officials and Grab have been ordered to begin punishing Grab drivers who use their phone while on the move.
According to VietnamNet, Vietnam’s National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) has called for the traffic safety boards of Hanoi and Saigon to closely manage Grab drivers who risk accidents from looking at their mobile phones while driving.
In particular, the traffic safety boards of Hanoi and HCMC are asking law enforcement to pay careful attention to drivers who indiscriminately make use of phones while driving. Furthermore, Grab has been ordered to improve traffic safety education for its drivers.
Grab is considered the top ride-hailing app in Southeast Asia, and is hugely popular in Vietnam's major cities. However, Grab-registered riders are frequently reported using phones on the street to connect with passengers or find their location. The news source shares that the NTSC has said this behavior violates traffic order, endangering the safety of road users.
Grab has now created a regulation obligating those who break the rule to pay a fine of VND100,000-200,000, while their driver’s license will be revoked for one-to-three months. The firm will also reportedly consider cancelling contracts with repeat violators.
