The moments after a crash follow a legal script in Vietnam, and every step of it is a duty, not a suggestion. Article 80 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety (No. 36/2024/QH15) lists what a person involved in a road accident must do, and the same law names fleeing the scene among the prohibited acts.

The five duties

  • Stop immediately. Do not move the bike out of the way first; the position of vehicles is evidence.
  • Warn of danger. Hazard lights, a warning triangle if available, or a bystander directing traffic around the scene.
  • Preserve the scene as it is.
  • Help the injured. Summoning emergency help is not optional; a person who can help and deliberately does not commits a prohibited act.
  • Notify the authorities — call the police (113) for the accident, and emergency services (115) if anyone is hurt.

For visitors, the practical additions: keep the rental shop’s number at hand, keep documents ready, and photograph positions and damage before anything is moved.

What the law does with failures

A violation of traffic rules that causes an accident already carries 10,000,000–14,000,000 VND for motorbike riders under Article 7(10) of Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP, alongside licence-point deduction and suspension. Leaving the scene to avoid responsibility is listed among the law’s prohibited acts and is treated as far graver than the accident itself; it can convert an administrative fine into a criminal case.

The insurance connection

The compulsory insurance certificate the rider carries is what the compensation process runs on after a crash — another reason it belongs in your pocket rather than a drawer. After a rental accident, the shop and the insurer need the police record, which is one more reason the police call comes before anything else.

For riders in Hanoi

Accidents in dense traffic are usually low-speed and negotiated, but the legal duties do not scale down with the damage. Stop, warn, preserve, help, report. Everything else — repairs, deposits, negotiation — happens after those five are done.

Information, not legal advice. Verified against Law 36/2024/QH15 and Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP on 2026-09-22.