Man fined $190 for driving car onto beach in Vietnam’s Dak Lak

The Dak Lak traffic police unit on Friday reported that the driver was penalized for entering a restricted area, as per the Vietnamese government’s Decree 168 which took effect on January 1 this year and introduces much higher fines for traffic violations.

The incident occurred around 5:00 pm on Thursday, near the Nghinh Phong Tower area of Binh Kien Ward, according to Luong Thao Nguyen, vice-chairman of the ward’s administration.

Witnesses said the 40-year-old driver maneuvered his vehicle, whose license plate is 35A-186.xx, onto the beach while locals were swimming nearby.

The car quickly sank into the sand and became immobile.

Many beachgoers expressed outrage at the driver’s reckless behavior, which endangered others enjoying the area.

After several hours, another vehicle was able to tow the stranded car off the beach around 7:00 pm.

According to local authorities, all vehicles are banned from driving on Tuy Hoa beach.

Any unauthorized vehicle entry into the beach area will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

This is not the first such incident.

On June 3, police of former Phu Yen Province charged Pham Ngoc Cuong, 44, with "disturbing public order" after he drove a pickup truck on Tuy Hoa beach and repeatedly honked his horn.

On June 11, another car was found stuck in the sand at a beach in Ward 4 of Tuy Hoa City in former Phu Yen Province. That driver also faced penalties from authorities.

The current Dak Lak Province has been formed by merging Dak Lak Province and neighboring Phu Yen Province, as part of the recent major administrative restructuring in which Vietnam’s total number of provinces and cities was reduced to 34 from 63.

Binh Kien Ward is a merger between part of Ward 9 and the entire An Phu, Binh Kien, Hoa Kien Communes of Tuy Hoa City in former Phu Yen Province.