Licences & Legal Eligibility
Motorbike Speed Limits in Hanoi’s Inner City: Read the Signs, Then the Circular
About 8 minutes to read
Riding a motorbike through Hanoi’s inner districts, what number on the speedometer is “about right”? The question sounds simple, but the answer depends on three things at once: the class of bike you are riding, the type of road you are on, and the signs on that stretch of road. This article sets the circular on maximum operating speeds for motor vehicles against the pages of Vietnamese state agencies as read on 24 October 2026. It also says plainly what no document states, so you know when to trust the sign in front of you rather than a figure in an article. It is the English counterpart of our Vietnamese guide to speed limits in Hanoi’s inner city, written for renters who read the signs in a language they are still learning.
Which document sets the limits
Maximum operating speeds for motor vehicles are set by Circular 38/2024/TT-BGTVT, in force from 1 January 2025 and replacing Circular 31/2019/TT-BGTVT. The 2026 consolidated text published by the Ministry of Construction records an amendment by Circular 09/2025/TT-BXD; that amendment only changes which authority decides where speed signs are placed, and leaves the speed figures untouched. Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP, the penalty decree, uses the phrase “the prescribed speed” when it sets fines, which means the fine depends on how far you exceed whichever limit applies, and the decree itself does not repeat the figures.
One note on timing. According to a report by the Government’s online newspaper on 15 September 2026, the Government Office issued Notice 482/TB-VPCP on 14 September 2026 calling for a study of amendments to Circular 38/2024/TT-BGTVT on speed and safe following distance. The report’s focus was following distance on expressways, and no change to motorbike speed limits had been announced. If you are reading this after that date, check for a newer text before relying on the figures below.
How a “densely populated area” is defined
Under Article 3, clause 1 of the circular, a road in a densely populated area is a section of road inside a city, town or township, or a section with dense housing along both sides, and it is marked by the signs “Start of densely populated area” and “End of densely populated area”. In other words, the boundary is not something you judge by feel; the signs set it.
The circular also distinguishes the two road types its speed table relies on. A dual carriageway (đường đôi) is a road whose two directions are separated by a central reservation; a two-way road (đường hai chiều) is one where both directions share the same carriageway with no central divider. Most of Hanoi’s inner-city streets are the second kind; the big radial roads and ring roads with a planted or concrete divider are the first.
Which class your rental bike belongs to
Law 36/2024/QH15 on road traffic order and safety separates motorcycles (xe mô tô) from mopeds (xe gắn máy) by engine specification (Article 34, clause 1, points e and g). A moped is a two- or three-wheeled vehicle with a design speed of no more than 50 km/h and, for a combustion engine, a displacement of no more than 50 cm³, or, for an electric motor, a power of no more than 4 kW. A motorcycle is any two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle that is not a moped. So a “50cc” badge is not enough on its own: a combustion-engined bike of 50 cm³ or less must also have a design speed of 50 km/h or less to fall under the moped definition, and an electric scooter must meet both the speed and the power condition. This is a reading of two provisions side by side; no page addresses rental bikes specifically. Which licence class matches which bike is a separate question, covered in Vietnam motorbike licence classes A1 and A.
Maximum speeds inside a densely populated area
| Vehicle class | Dual carriageway, or one-way road with two or more motor-vehicle lanes | Two-way road, or one-way road with a single motor-vehicle lane |
|---|---|---|
| Motorcycle (Article 6, clause 1 of the circular) | 60 km/h | 50 km/h |
| Moped, including electric vehicles in this class (Article 7) | 40 km/h | |
The motorcycle row sits in the table that applies to “motor vehicles other than those covered by Articles 7 and 8” of the circular. Motorcycles fall under neither of those articles, so they take the 60 and 50 km/h figures. Hanoi’s legal-education portal, in a post dated 28 November 2024, gives the same 60 and 50 km/h figures for motor vehicles in general. What the 40 km/h moped limit means for a day trip on a 50cc scooter is explored in the 50cc moped 40 km/h limit on Vietnam day trips, and the route choices it forces on faster roads in taking a 50cc scooter on faster roads.
Reading the signs together with your class limit
- A sign showing a higher limit is not a reason for a moped to exceed the 40 km/h set for its class in Article 7. If the sign in force requires a lower figure, the lower figure applies. Whatever the ceiling, you must still slow down for visibility, traffic density, road surface and weather.
- Where a maximum-speed sign (sign P.127) is posted, the rider must not exceed the figure on the sign. National technical regulation QCVN 41:2024/BGTVT states that this sign prohibits motor vehicles from exceeding the posted figure, except vehicles with right of way under the regulations.
- Within the area covered by sign R.420 “Start of densely populated area”, a P.127 sign you meet must be obeyed. Sign R.420 remains in force until the point where sign R.421 “End of densely populated area” is placed.
- Where there is no speed sign, the rider follows Articles 6, 7, 8 and 11 of the circular (Article 4, clause 2).
- The managing authority may post separate signs for classes of vehicle that carry a higher risk of accident (Article 10, clause 2, point c).
| Sign | What it looks like | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| P.127 | Round, red border, a number in the middle | Do not exceed that number on this stretch, whatever the circular’s default would be |
| R.420 | Rectangular, blue, a town skyline symbol | You are entering a densely populated area; the inner-city limits apply from here |
| R.421 | The same skyline with a red diagonal stroke | End of the densely populated area; the limits outside such areas apply from here |
Does Hanoi have its own limit?
Among the pages checked, there is no general limit specific to motorbikes in Hanoi’s inner city beyond the circular’s figures. Individual roads, bridges or tunnels can carry their own P.127 sign, and that sign takes priority over the figure in the circular. One Hanoi Q&A page on speed in residential areas relied on the repealed Circular 31/2019, so it was not used here. Whether a given stretch counts as a dual carriageway or a two-way road is a question of road layout and signs, not something the documents above list street by street.
Fines for exceeding the limit
| Offence (motorcycles and mopeds) | Legal basis | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Exceeding the prescribed speed by 5 to under 10 km/h | Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP, Article 7, clause 2, point b | VND 400,000 to 600,000 |
| Exceeding the prescribed speed by 10 to 20 km/h | Article 7, clause 4, point a | VND 800,000 to 1,000,000 |
| Exceeding the prescribed speed by more than 20 km/h | Article 7, clause 8, point a | VND 6,000,000 to 8,000,000; 4 points deducted from the driving licence (clause 13, point b) |
| Riding in a group of two or more bikes above the prescribed speed | Article 7, clause 9, point b | VND 8,000,000 to 10,000,000; licence suspended for 10 to 12 months (clause 12, point b) |
How point deductions work, and what they mean for a foreign licence or an exchanged one, is explained in Vietnam’s driving licence points system for motorbike riders. For a rental, a fine recorded by camera after you have returned the bike reaches the shop first; agree in advance how the shop will pass it on.
Practical notes for riding a rental in the city
- Read the sign first, remember the figure second. Signs P.127, R.420 and R.421 decide the maximum on that stretch.
- Look at the speedometer of the bike you actually received, and ask the shop if the needle seems to read oddly; a rental’s speedometer is the only one the police will care about.
- Ride below the maximum when the road is crowded, when it rains or when the bike is still unfamiliar. The maximum is a ceiling, not a target. Before heading into dense traffic, a quiet-space session on balance and braking helps if you have not ridden for a while.
- On the dyke roads and outside the city, check the signs again once you pass R.421, and slow before bends rather than in them.
- At 40 km/h on a moped, keep to the right-hand lane on the big radial roads and expect faster traffic on your left; the bridge approaches are where the speed gap feels widest.
What the documents checked do not say
- Any general speed limit specific to motorbikes in Hanoi’s inner city beyond the circular.
- A list of which Hanoi streets count as dual carriageways and which as two-way roads.
- Expressway speed rules, which are outside the scope of this article; motorcycles and mopeds are not allowed on expressways in any case.
This is not legal advice. Decree 238/2026/NĐ-CP (in force from 15 August 2026) amended several articles of Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP; if you need the exact fine for a specific case, check the latest consolidated text or ask the competent authority.
Sources checked
- Circular 38/2024/TT-BGTVT, consolidated text (Ministry of Construction, 2026): mt.gov.vn
- Circular 38/2024/TT-BGTVT of 15 November 2024: datafiles.chinhphu.vn
- Hanoi legal-education portal, rules on motor-vehicle speed in force from 1 January 2025, 28 November 2024: pbgdpl.hanoi.gov.vn
- QCVN 41:2024/BGTVT, national technical regulation on road signs: datafiles.chinhphu.vn
- Law 36/2024/QH15 (consolidated text), Article 34: datafiles.chinhphu.vn
- Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP, Article 7: xaydungchinhsach.chinhphu.vn
- Government online newspaper, safe following distance and the study of amendments to Circular 38/2024, 15 September 2026: xaydungchinhsach.chinhphu.vn
Questions about the specific bike you will ride into the city can go to Motorbike Nguyen Ha on +84 334 699 969 (Zalo and WhatsApp), 09:00–21:00 daily, at Alley 5 Nguyen Van Cu, Bo De, Long Bien, near Gia Lam bus station.
