Beep! Beep! A motorcyclist without a helmet snakes through a crush of oncoming traffic, going the wrong way on a one-way street while texting with one hand on the phone, the other on the throttle.

Motorcycles, cars and buses crowd a Hanoi road. Vietnam is home to some of the world's most deadly traffic.

Like a school of fish, the other bikes casually wiggle out of the way as if part of a choreographed chaos. This dance of traffic violations, repeated practically every minute somewhere in Vietnam, has made the country's roads among the world's most dangerous.

The government is trying to crack down, imposing hefty fines starting Thursday for everything from racing to excessive horn use.

"I've been to many countries but I've never seen traffic like what's in Vietnam," said Than Van Thanh, a manager of the government's National Committee for Traffic Safety. "Over the past five years, the traffic accidents in Vietnam have remained very high. Every day 31 people never return to their homes."

Vietnam reported 11,500 traffic-related deaths last year, but experts say the number could be double that. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the rate is probably about 20 deaths per 100,000 people, among the world's highest.

The new fines increase penalties up to seven times for various offenses, with the steepest increases in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the two largest cities.

Car drivers caught running a red light — a common occurrence — will be fined up to 1.2 million Vietnamese dong ($63) in either city, while motorcyclists, who account for 95 percent of Vietnam's traffic, will owe up to 500,000 dong ($26).

Though fines are lower in rural provinces, they remain pricey for many in a country with an average monthly income of about $80.

However, some have argued the penalties will not deter the growing nouveau riche, who cruise the streets on expensive Vespa motorbikes or behind the wheels of BMWs and even Bentleys.

Zigzagging, a dangerous practice where drivers whip in and out of traffic to pass others, will carry a fine of up to 12 million dong ($630) for cars and 7 million dong ($370) for motorbikes. For that offense, along with going the wrong way on a one-way street, drivers will also be stripped of their license for 30 days.

Traffic troubles have grown alongside Vietnam's rapid economic development, while infrastructure has lagged.

Narrow streets and limited public transit have led to rush-hour gridlock, with roaring motorbikes transforming sidewalks into extra lanes.

Every day, 7,000 new motorbikes and 500 new automobiles hit the road in the Southeast Asian country of 86 million people, but safety awareness — from helmets and seat belts to the dangers of drunken driving — has not caught up, said Jean-Marc Olive, head of WHO in Vietnam.

Drivers typically don't look before darting into traffic or cutting across multiple lanes of cars, motorbikes and bicycles in a "you-look-out-for-me" driving culture.

In a country where one-third of all traffic deaths involve alcohol, the new law bans drivers from drinking, while lowering the blood-alcohol limit for motorbike drivers from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. But with few breathalyzers and trained police, enforcement remains difficult.