Proposal to increase penalties for drivers with alcohol concentration

On the morning of December 6, in Vinh city, the National Traffic Safety Committee, the Vietnam Traffic Safety Association, the Asia-Pacific Wine and Spirits Association (APIWSA) and the Vietnam Responsible Drinking Forum (VARD) held a workshop on "Announcing the results of research on the impact of alcohol abuse on motorcycle and motorbike driving behavior in Vietnam".

Attending the workshop were comrades: Nguyen Trong Thai - Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee; Nguyen Hong Truong - Chairman of the Vietnam Traffic Safety Association. Photo: Phuong Thuy

According to the World Health Organization, in 2012 in Vietnam, about 36% of motorcyclists were found to have blood alcohol levels exceeding the permitted threshold. According to a report by the National Traffic Safety Committee in 2016, nearly 40% of traffic accidents occurred due to drivers drinking alcohol.

In Nghe An, in 2019 (from December 16, 2018 to November 15, 2019), there were 272 traffic accidents in the province, killing 161 people and injuring 188 people. Of these, there were 2 traffic accidents caused by drivers with alcohol in their breath.

The authorities have detected and recorded 9,761 cases of alcohol concentration violations, transferred over 20 billion VND to the State Treasury for fines, and temporarily revoked 9,762 cases of driving licenses.

Traffic accidents caused by drunk driving are still complicated. Photo: Archive

Although patrolling, penalizing, propagating and encouraging driving services to take drunk people home have been and are being carried out, the situation of drunk driving is still common, causing traffic accidents caused by this behavior to still be complicated. This practice requires a comprehensive study of this behavior to serve as a scientific basis for developing effective solutions and policies.

From May 2018 to December 2018, a research project was conducted on motorcyclists in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Hanoi. The research team determined the correlation between drinking habits and traffic accidents; determined the relationship between blood alcohol concentration and the probability of traffic accidents for motorcyclists.

Through the research, the research team proposed solutions: Applying a blood alcohol level of 0 for motorcyclists; increasing random alcohol testing; increasing fines and adding new penalties. Propagating through victims of traffic accidents caused by drinking alcohol; posting warning posters at establishments serving alcohol; increasing warnings to relatives and families...

The proposal to increase the penalty for drivers with alcohol concentration was raised by many delegates. Photo: Document

At the same time, increase taxi services to bring people who drink alcohol home safely; encourage the production and consumption of low-alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages; apply alcohol warning software on smartphones...

The workshop “Announcing the results of the study on the impact of alcohol abuse on motorcycle and motorbike driving behavior in Vietnam” aims to assess the impact of alcohol concentration on the safety of drivers in Vietnam conditions, contributing to the process of building policies to improve traffic safety in Vietnam.