Nghe An strengthens handling of alcohol concentration violations

Drunk driving

Although there are no specific statistics, it is generally noted that the number of emergency cases related to traffic accidents in the area in the last months of the year is somewhat "higher", especiallyTraffic accidentdue to alcohol consumption. In the Intensive Care Unit, the Anesthesia and Resuscitation Unit,... in hospitals, there are many cases of accidents due to drinking alcohol before driving, not to mention the cases of "victims" caused by drunk drivers.

Officers of Dien Chau Traffic Police Station (Provincial Traffic Police Department) check alcohol concentration of drivers. Photo: D.C.

Although it was still difficult to speak, Mr. MTL, a resident of Vinh City and currently being treated at the Intensive Care Unit of Nghe An General Hospital, still tried to continue talking when he knew we wanted to learn and write an article to warn about drinking alcohol before driving.

With a regretful look, Mr. L. said that on that day, some brothers from Ha Tinh province had a chance to meet each other, "drinking and chatting" without knowing when to stop, so when driving a friend home, when passing by Vinh University campus 2 (the road to Cua Lo town), he lost control of the steering wheel and drove into the field. The accident caused his friend to be transferred to a higher level for treatment. "I regret it very much, it was all due to drinking alcohol leading to loss of control", Mr. L. said.

According to Mr. L.'s family, the above accident happened more than a month ago. Both people in the car suffered multiple injuries, affecting their brains. Fortunately, it was late at night and there were few people on the road, otherwise the consequences would have been unknown.

According to a doctor at the Emergency Department of Nghe An General Hospital, although after receiving the case, the cause is not classified for each traffic accident, in reality, most victims related to alcohol have serious accidents.

Drivers comply with alcohol concentration test. Photo: D.C.

To have a more realistic view of the alcohol concentration violation situation, especially in the last months of the year, we followed the working group of Dien Chau Traffic Police Station (provincial Traffic Police Department) on a weekend afternoon in December. Although we did not deploy a separate topicalcohol concentration, but through patrolling and controlling the area near Cuong Temple, from 12-13 o'clock, the force checked over 10 cases, of which 2 cases had alcohol concentration exceeding the prescribed level.

Accordingly, most drivers expressed their agreement with the traffic police's actions. Nguyen Duc Hung, a car driver, said, "The administrative penalty under Decree 100-ND/CP seems harsh, but in my opinion, it is very reasonable, because if people who have drunk alcohol drive, it will be a danger to many people." However, some drunk drivers still argued and found reasons to justify their violations.

From the beginning of October 2020 to now, there have been 75 traffic accidents in the province, killing 32 people and injuring 54 people (a decrease of 10 cases compared to the same period, 19 deaths, 11 injuries). Of the accidents that occurred, 15% of serious traffic accidents were caused by alcohol abuse, driving on the wrong side of the road, lane, not controlling speed, not paying attention to observation, avoiding illegal overtaking...

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Nam Hong - Deputy Head of Traffic Police Department (Nghe An Police)

Therefore, handling alcohol concentration violations is always part of the plan to ensure traffic safety and order of the Provincial Police. In recent times, the Traffic Police of Nghe An Province have implemented many measures, including increasing forces, technical equipment, and increasing patrols and handling controls. The Traffic Police also coordinate with the Provincial Mobile Police to organize patrols and controls on all routes and "hot" areas.

Since the beginning of the year, through inspections, Nghe An Traffic Police have recorded 81,408 cases of traffic safety violations (including 3,130 cases of alcohol concentration violations), collecting more than 71 billion VND for the State Treasury.

Strengthen inspection and handling

In fact, among the causes of traffic accidents, many are due to drivers usingaleLoss of concentration, leading to driving on the wrong side of the road, lane, not controlling speed, not paying attention to observation, not avoiding illegal overtaking... That is the cause of many tragic accidents in many localities across the country recently.

Specialist Doctor 1 Nguyen Canh Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Psychiatric Hospital said that when driving, people need stable brain function to control their eyes, hands and feet to perceive, respond quickly and make accurate decisions. However, drinking alcohol slows down the brain's response, negatively affecting driving skills, thus easily causing accidents.

Nghe An Traffic Police focus on checking at noon, evening, on holidays and on routes with heavy traffic. Photo: D.C.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Nam Hong - Deputy Head of Traffic Police Department (Nghe An Police), to ensure traffic safety, prevent risks leading to accidents due to drivers drinking alcohol. In the general plan implemented under the Order of Department C08 - Ministry of Public Security and Director of Provincial Police, from December 15, 2020 to February 28, 2021, although there is no separate topic on alcohol concentration, through patrolling and control, if detected, it will still be handled normally. Accordingly, the inspection will be more careful, each officer and police officer will wear a medical mask, use a separate mouthpiece for each person, ensure hygiene, and disinfect measuring equipment...

"We will focus on strong inspections at noon, evening, on holidays and on routes with heavy traffic. Accordingly, we will direct teams and stations to coordinate with local police to actively propagate and deploy regular inspections and handling on national and provincial highways. In addition, the Traffic Police of 21 districts, cities and towns will simultaneously deploy working groups to inspect and handle general violations, including violations of alcohol concentration on all routes managed by the locality" - Lieutenant Colonel Hong said.

Traffic Police Team 1-46 checks alcohol concentration of drivers. Photo: D.C.

This is also one of the key contents raised by comrade Le Hong Vinh - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee at the meeting of the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee to assess the situation and results of the implementation of the task of ensuring traffic order and safety in the first 10 months of 2020, and deploy tasks in the coming time, on the afternoon of November 3. According to the Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, in the last months of the year, during the peak of the New Year and Lunar New Year 2021, the Traffic Police force needs to continue to increase the number of personnel, patrol, control and handle violations, including violations of alcohol concentration.

Traffic Police of Vinh City Police analyze the violations for violators. Photo: D.C.