Vietnam clamps down on skinny bikers

HANOI, Vietnam, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Vietnamese officials say individuals whose chest measures less than 28 inches should no longer be allowed to operate a motorbike on the country's roads.

With motorbikes accounting for an estimated 90 percent of all traffic on Vietnamese roads, new proposed regulations would require skinny or short residents to either walk or seek alternative transport, The (Britain) Daily Telegraph said Wednesday.

Le Quang Minh, a stockbroker in the city of Hanoi, said with the average Vietnamese man weighing 121 pounds and the average Vietnamese woman weighing 103 pounds, the roads could soon be nearly empty.

"The new proposals are very funny, but many Vietnamese people could become the victim of this joke," Minh said. "Many Vietnamese women have small chests. I have many friends who won't meet these criteria."

Ho Chi Min City blogger Bo Cu Hung told the Telegraph he too found the attempt to improve road safety a joke in the making.

"From now on, padded bras will be best-sellers," he said.