VietNamNet Bridge – Those low-slung electric scooters ridden silently through the streets by Vietnamese children now have to be registered.

Drivers who do not possess certificates of origin, sale or ownership are likely to be given a hard time by police.— File Photo

But drivers who do not possess certificates of origin, sale or ownership are likely to be given a hard time by police.

To make things confusing, only machines with a maximum engine strength of more than 4kW and a maximum speed of no more than 50km per hour have to comply.

The Ministry of Public Security has warned that electric bikes fitting this description and caught on the road without number plates will receive the same punishments as the drivers of real motorbikes.

However, pedal scooters that can reach a maximum speed of no more than 25km per hour do not need to be registered or to have number plates.

Confusion

Lan Huong, a resident from Hoan Kiem District, is still scratching her head. She took her electric bike to the district's vehicle registration centre this week.

But she was told her scooter was a modified electric bicycle that did not have to be registered.

Nguyen Van Thanh, another district resident, went to the same centre to register his machine, but he did not have the necessary papers, such as a certificate of quality and a bill of sale.

Nguyen Van Kien, from Cau Giay District, said he bought his electric motorbike in 2011 and did not save the papers related to the vehicle because he thought that it did not have to be registered.

Senior lieutenant Do Ngoc Loc, who registers vehicles at Hoan Kiem Police station, said that on June 2, nearly a dozen residents wanted to register their electric bikes, but none were successful.

This was because they did not have papers on the origin of their machines or ownership papers.

Colonel Dao Vinh Thang, head of the Road and Railway Police Department under the Ha Noi Police, said that if electric bikes were used before July, 2009, they could still be registered with minimal certification.

Electric bikes bought after this date must possess certificates of ownership and origin.

Source: VNS