One of the issues that many National Assembly deputies were interested in and commented on during the discussion session on the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety this morning was the provision "prohibiting the act of driving a vehicle to participate in road traffic while having alcohol in the blood or breath". On the morning of March 27, continuing the program of the 5th Conference of National Assembly deputies working full-time, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh chaired the discussion session on the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety. One of the issues that many deputies were interested in and commented on during the discussion session was the provision "prohibiting the act of driving a vehicle to participate in road traffic while having alcohol in the blood or breath" in Clause 1, Article 9 of the draft Law.
Two options and their advantages and disadvantages In the report on some major issues of the draft Law sent to the conference, the Standing Committee of the National Defense and Security Committee said that during the discussion at the 6th Session, the majority of delegates agreed with the prohibition of driving a vehicle on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath. However, some delegates also proposed to set a minimum limit for alcohol concentration in the blood and breath for drivers participating in traffic.
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Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh chaired the discussion on the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety on the morning of March 27. (Photo: DUY LINH) |
The agency in charge of the review has pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of both of the above viewpoints. Accordingly, continuing this prohibition is one of the fundamental solutions to contribute to changing the culture and habits of drinking alcohol, especially not driving after drinking alcohol. Forming a culture of "don't drive after drinking alcohol" may be a long-term process, but it is suitable for the economic, social and traffic conditions of Vietnam. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to promote the formation of that culture, combining other comprehensive measures to build a healthy living environment, a lifestyle that does not depend on the consumption of alcoholic beverages... On the other hand, according to the report, the regulation of an absolute ban on alcohol concentration ensures more feasibility than the regulation allowing alcohol concentration at a certain threshold. With the regulation of an absolute ban on alcohol concentration, people do not drink alcohol before driving. If the regulation has a certain threshold, it will be difficult for people to determine how much to drink, how to drink below that threshold, and it will be difficult for the authorities to handle it. Moreover, when there is a threshold, it is easy to be forced to drink, and when drinking, it is easy to get excited, making it difficult to control oneself and stop. In addition, the regulation of the threshold has many limitations, including wasting the efforts and money of the State and the people when we have worked hard to propagate, inspect, and handle violations, gradually forming a culture of "don't drive after drinking alcohol". The report clearly stated that the Standing Committee of the Inspection Agency agreed with the Government's proposal to absolutely ban alcohol concentration for drivers participating in road traffic. However, according to the suggestions of some delegates, the Standing Committee of the Committee has designed 2 options to report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly at the 31st session (March 2024).
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Scene of the discussion session. (Photo: DUY LINH) |
Option 1: Regulation prohibiting the act of driving a vehicle on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath (inheriting the provisions of Clause 6, Article 5 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol and Beer 2019, applicable to all types of road vehicles).
Option 2: Regulations as in the 2008 Road Traffic Law prohibit: "Driving a car, tractor, or specialized motorbike on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath. Driving a motorbike or moped with alcohol concentration in the blood exceeding 50 milligrams/100 milliliters of blood or 0.25 milligrams/1 liter of breath". At the same time, it is necessary to amend the relevant provisions in Clause 6, Article 5 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Alcohol and Beer Harm 2019. At the 31st session, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave specific opinions on the above two options and agreed to recommend Option 1.
It is necessary to continue to assess the impact more deeply and comprehensively. Speaking at the Conference of specialized National Assembly deputies this morning, delegate Nguyen Dai Thang (Hung Yen delegation) said that in the group discussion session at the 6th National Assembly session, delegates proposed to consider the need for an alcohol concentration threshold. However, after carefully assessing the advantages and disadvantages, delegates currently agree with the regulation prohibiting the act of driving a vehicle on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath. According to delegate Thang, recently, the traffic police have increased inspection and handling of alcohol concentration violations, strictly demonstrating no prohibited areas, no exceptions, thereby contributing to reducing traffic accidents.
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Delegate Nguyen Dai Thang (Hung Yen delegation) joined the discussion. (Photo: DUY LINH) |
“According to data from the authorities, in 2023 the number of traffic accidents related to alcohol consumption decreased by 25%, the number of deaths decreased by 50%, and the number of injuries decreased by 22% compared to the same period. With the motto that human life is above all, first of all, the regulation prohibiting people from drinking alcohol while driving is necessary,” said the delegate from Hung Yen. Regarding the regulation on handling violations of alcohol concentration up to the threshold, delegate Thang raised the question: “When sitting at the table drinking alcohol, how do we determine what is drinking within the permitted threshold?”. In addition, according to the delegate, in recent times, the authorities have increased the handling of alcohol concentration violations, so people have gradually formed the habit of “if you drink alcohol, do not drive”. Discussing this content, delegate Nguyen Minh Tam (Quang Binh delegation) said that according to the explanatory report, the prohibition of driving a vehicle on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath is aimed at preventing and reducing potential risks and damages caused by the use of alcohol when driving. At the same time, there have been many specific figures demonstrating the current situation of traffic accidents related to alcohol. "Therefore, I agree with the regulation prohibiting the act of driving a vehicle on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath (this regulation inherits the provisions of Clause 6, Article 5 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol and Beer 2019, applicable to all types of road vehicles)", Ms. Tam said.
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Delegate Nguyen Minh Tam (Quang Binh delegation) expressed his agreement with the regulation prohibiting the act of driving a vehicle while having alcohol in the blood or breath. (Photo: DUY LINH) |
However, according to delegate Nguyen Minh Tam, the practice of using alcohol and beer in our country is considered a cultural feature, a habit of a part of the population. Moreover, the activities of producing, importing, distributing, supplying and consuming alcohol and beer have also contributed a significant part to the State budget revenue; creating jobs and income for a part of the workers at establishments producing and trading alcoholic beverages. "The regulation of an absolute ban on the use of alcohol and beer when participating in traffic will greatly reduce the consumption of alcohol and beer and have a certain impact on cultural life, budget revenue and workers' income", the delegate said. Therefore, to increase persuasiveness, the delegate suggested that the Government should continue to assess the deeper and more comprehensive impact of this policy. At the same time, research to provide data demonstrating the "allowable alcohol concentration limit" to control alcohol and beer when participating in traffic as in the past is not feasible, does not reduce the number of traffic accidents and makes it difficult to control the traffic accident situation. Having a different opinion from the above delegates, delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap delegation) said that it is necessary to regulate violations of alcohol concentration up to the threshold before handling. "I think, it is not that I stubbornly maintain my subjective opinion. In reality, after a party, people with money go to services, while people without money still drive themselves. Especially in rural areas, there are many manual workers, they go by motorbike. If 100% have no alcohol concentration, it is difficult to do. In fact, when drinking 1 can of beer or 1-2 glasses of wine, the mind is still normal, driving is still possible. For example, drinking alcohol yesterday afternoon and driving the next morning with an alcohol concentration still present and being punished is very unreasonable," delegate Hoa shared his opinion.
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