Voters propose to abolish driving license revocation when punishing alcohol concentration violations

Dong Nai voters reflected that according to Decree 100/2019/ND-CP (amended in Decree 123/2021/ND-CP) of the Government, in addition to being fined, drivers who violate alcohol concentration regulations will also have their driving licenses revoked.

However, voters believe that the regulation of revoking the driving license of violators is inappropriate and causes damage to the people, because the driving license is a necessary document for driving a vehicle and at the same time it is also a means to serve the living needs of the people.

Therefore, voters recommend that the authorities study and amend the regulations in the direction of increasing the penalty level to serve as a deterrent and not revoking the driving license of violators, which would be more appropriate.

Responding to this issue, the Ministry of Transport said that revoking the right to use a driver's license is an additional form of punishment for individuals who drive vehicles and commit serious traffic violations, including driving with alcohol in their blood or breath.

This violation is assessed to have a high risk of affecting the safety of the vehicle driver as well as the safety of people and other vehicles participating in traffic on the road, violating regulations and requirements for drivers' license users.

Currently, additional penalties are specifically prescribed in Decree 100/2019/ND-CP and Decree 123/2021/ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree 100/2019/ND-CP.

Depending on each specific violation, the driver may have his/her driving license revoked (when driving a car, motorbike, scooter, specialized motorbike and similar vehicles) or his/her certificate of training in road traffic law (when driving specialized motorbikes) from 1 to 24 months.

In particular, the highest penalty is the revocation of the right to use a driver's license for 22 - 24 months as prescribed in Point h, Clause 11, Article 5, Point g, Clause 10, Article 6, Point e, Clause 10, Article 7 of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP.

This penalty is applied to drivers of cars, motorbikes, and mopeds (including electric motorbikes) who commit one of the following violations related to alcohol concentration: driving a vehicle with a blood or breath alcohol concentration exceeding 80 milligrams/100 milliliters of blood or exceeding 0.4 milligrams/liter of breath; failing to comply with the request of an officer on duty to check alcohol concentration; or involving the use of drugs.

In addition to having their driving licenses revoked, car drivers who violate the above regulations will be fined from VND30 to VND40 million; motorcyclists who violate the regulations will also be fined from VND6 to VND8 million.

The additional penalty of revoking the right to use a driver's license has been applied for many years. It can be seen that, along with the strict handling of the authorities, the increase in penalties combined with the additional penalty of revoking the right to use a driver's license (in some cases up to 24 months for violations of alcohol and drug concentration) has had a direct impact on traffic participants, further raising awareness of compliance with the law on traffic safety and order is an effective solution to limit traffic accidents, in line with international practice.