Debate on absolute ban on alcohol concentration for drivers

On the afternoon of May 6, the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong province held a conference to collect opinions on the draft Law on Roads, the Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order, and the Law on Archives (amended). These three draft laws are expected to be submitted to the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly.

At the conference, many delegates expressed their concerns about the prohibition of alcohol concentration for drivers. According to the draft Law on Road Traffic Safety, the first prohibited act is "driving a vehicle on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath".

Comrade Hoang Tien Nam, Head of the Traffic Police Department of Hai Duong Provincial Police, agreed with the absolute ban on alcohol concentration for drivers. He said that from June 2022 to December 2023, the number of deaths and injuries due to road traffic accidents involving alcohol nationwide accounted for 20% of the total number of deaths and injuries due to road traffic accidents. Of which, about 80% of the errors were caused by drivers who had consumed alcohol. In 2023, since the police force strictly controlled and resolutely violated alcohol concentration for drivers, traffic accidents related to alcohol decreased by 25%, the number of deaths decreased by 50%, and the number of injuries decreased by 22% compared to 2022. People's awareness of traffic participation has also been raised. Therefore, the viewpoint of continuing to absolutely ban alcohol concentration for drivers is well-founded and appropriate.

Discussing this issue, Mr. Le Van Ngoan, Deputy Director of the Department of Justice, said that the absolute ban on alcohol concentration would have a significant impact on local socio-economic development. He suggested clearly defining each specific level, including the maximum penalty, which would increase according to the alcohol concentration level.

Agreeing with the opinion of the Deputy Director of the Department of Justice, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Cam Giang district, said that the absolute ban on alcohol concentration has many shortcomings. He gave an example of a case where a person drank alcohol the day before but still had alcohol concentration the next day and violated the law. In some countries in the world such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, there are also regulations on the permitted alcohol concentration. Mr. Nguyen Van Cong also proposed to increase the maximum penalty and prosecute if the violator has an alcohol concentration that is too high and poses a danger to society.

Delegates also contributed many important opinions to the three draft laws.

Concluding the conference, Comrade Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, acknowledged 11 opinions from the delegates. Comrade Nguyen Thi Viet Nga affirmed that these are contents that are still controversial in public opinion and the opinions of the delegates are a valuable source of information for National Assembly delegates to participate in the law-making process. Comrade Nguyen Thi Viet Nga said that the Provincial National Assembly Delegation will study and synthesize all opinions at the conference.