Vietnam is planning to restrict the use of motorbikes on some of the major streets in its major cities during fixed time periods.

The government has asked the transport ministry to make a plan to do this in all big cities as it struggles to deal with the country's worsening traffic situation.

In a recent resolution, it has also asked Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to implement measures to to restrict motorbikes on some of their streets during certain time periods.

This is not the first time Vietnam is considering restrictions on personal vehicles to lessen traffic jams.

In 2003 the Ministry of Public Security issued an order allowing each person to register just one motorbike, after the number of registrations went up by 21 percent that year, said Than Van Thanh, chief of the office of the National Committee of Traffic Safety.

However, the decision was soon withdrawn as it was found violating citizens' right of ownership.

The same situation happened in Hanoi, which in 2003 stopped licensing motorbikes in four districts, but had to cancel the decision two years later.

According to Nguyen Hoang Linh, deputy director of Hanoi's Department of Transport, the most important thing to lessen traffic jams is to develop public transportation that meets the public's actual demand.