On the morning of January 29, the Traffic Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) coordinated with the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health) to organize a workshop on "The harmful effects of alcohol and beer on road traffic participants".

At the workshop, Major General Nguyen Van Minh - Deputy Director of the Traffic Police Department said that the harmful effects of alcohol and beer consumption are very serious, affecting many areas such as: economy, health, education, traffic and increasing social problems.

"Since taking effect, Decree 100 has created an effect, spreading to all classes of people, reducing traffic accidents. In particular, from 2022 to now, with the close direction of the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security, the traffic police force nationwide has simultaneously and drastically implemented inspections and strictly handled violations of alcohol concentration for drivers participating in traffic with the motto of no prohibited areas, no exceptions, no days off. Thereby, initially forming the habit of traffic participants who have drunk alcohol or beer not to drive", Major General Nguyen Van Minh assessed.

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Major General Nguyen Van Minh, Deputy Director of Traffic Police Department (Ministry of Public Security)

However, according to the Deputy Director, there are still a number of traffic participants with alcohol in their bodies, including individual cases of multiple accidents, killing and injuring many people, causing accidents and then running away, resisting law enforcement officers...

Also at the workshop, Colonel Nguyen Quang Nhat - Head of the Department of Traffic Accident Investigation and Resolution (Traffic Police Department) said that according to statistics and sociological surveys of 45,661 prisoners serving prison sentences at the Ministry of Public Security's prisons, 23,438 prisoners used alcohol before committing crimes.

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Colonel Nguyen Quang Nhat speaks at the conference

"In 2023, the national traffic police force handled more than 770,000 cases of drivers violating alcohol concentration while driving; an average of 2,100 cases were handled each day," Colonel Nguyen Quang Nhat informed.

Also according to Colonel Nguyen Quang Nhat, the situation of drivers using alcohol and beer and then driving vehicles increases during holidays and Tet... Specifically, in the first 15 days of the peak period to ensure traffic order and safety during the Lunar New Year and the spring festivals of 2024 (from January 11 to 24), traffic police nationwide fined more than 40,000 cases of alcohol concentration violations, that is, more than 2,700 drivers per day.

Drinking 5 or 30 glasses of beer can be punished the same way.

Also contributing to the discussion at the workshop, Mr. Tran Huu Minh - Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee said that currently, the regulations on handling concentration are relatively complete and strict. However, through analyzing the current regulations, the National Traffic Safety Committee found that it is still possible to amend and supplement to do better.

According to Mr. Tran Huu Minh, currently, the administrative penalty for alcohol concentration is at a relatively high level, creating a good deterrent. But in reality, people who drink 5 glasses or 30 glasses can be administratively punished the same, at level 3 (highest over 80 mg/100 ml of blood; fine of 30-40 million VND; driving license revocation for 22-24 months for cars).

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Mr. Tran Huu Minh, Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee

“This is not in accordance with the regulations on administrative sanctions, commensurate with the level of violation. In our opinion, if it exceeds level 3, it is completely possible to separate it for administrative or criminal handling for violations of alcohol concentration regulations at a particularly serious level, even if it has not caused any consequences,” the Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee emphasized.

To handle particularly serious alcohol violations, according to Mr. Tran Huu Minh, the authorities need to study and amend the provisions of the law. For this, the health sector needs to issue a document recommending what level of alcohol concentration is considered particularly serious and the driver will lose control completely.

“From there, those who violate alcohol concentration at a particularly serious level will be transferred to criminal proceedings. From there, the Supreme People's Court's Judicial Council will issue guiding documents for the competent authorities below to implement,” said Mr. Tran Huu Minh.

After the New Year's Eve parties, 'drunk' drivers lose the right to drive cars to celebrate Tet . The days leading up to Tet are also the time when New Year's Eve parties increase, leading to the phenomenon of "drunk" drivers driving vehicles. Many people have violated alcohol concentration, had their licenses revoked, and lost the right to drive cars to celebrate Tet.