A traffic police officer takes an alcohol test for a motorcyclist. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has asked theDirectorate for Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) to revise the Government Decree No 46issued in 2016 towards imposing stricter penalties on drivers whose alcoholcontent in blood or breath exceeding the permitted level.
Under the directive, which was signed by Transport Minister Nguyen Van The, theDRVN was requested to coordinate with the Department of Transport of provincesand cities to direct inspectors to strengthen inspection of drivers beforeleaving bus stations.
“Strict punishment should be imposed on people who violate traffic safetyregulations, especially those are driving with alcohol content exceeding thepermitted level,” said the MoT.
Le Van Thanh from the MoT's Traffic Safety Department said the department wouldconsult the Ministry of Justice and submit a revised decree to the Governmentin June. “We are studying to increase the punishment relating to alcoholconcentration to between 20-30 million VND and deprivation of driving licencefor 24 months,” he said, adding that the highest penalties currently set at 16-18million VND and revoking of driving licence for 4-6 months.
The ministry proposed that the National Traffic Safety Committee collaboratewith agencies under its leadership to promptly set up a plan for dissemination,preventing and dealing with violations of regulations on alcohol concentrationfor drivers in 2019 and peak period of the Calendar New Year, Lunar New Yearand Spring Festival of 2020.
It was necessary for the NTSC to mobilise units and enterprises to supporttraffic safety divisions at localities by providing video clips andleaflets calling on people to implement the slogan “Do not drink driving” witha view to building a civilised and safe traffic environment, it said.
According to Minister of Transport The, there have been a number ofserious traffic accidents causing huge damage to people and property, causingconcerns for the public over the past few months.
The original cause of a number of traffic accidents was that the alcoholin drivers' blood and breath exceeding the permitted level, hesaid.
To deal with the situation, the MoT has directed cadres, civil servants oftransport units not to use wine, beer or other alcoholic substances while theywere on duty; strictly abide by the provisions of law when driving on the roadand violations would be handled with due punishment.
In addition, transport units should develop dissemination campaigns withvarious forms. Cadres and civil servants in the transport sector must takeadvantage of social networking such as Facebook, Zalo and Viber with powerfulimages to disseminate the harmful effects of alcohol when participating intraffic to their relatives and normal people.
Nguyen Quang Nhat, head of the traffic law dissemination division of theMinistry of Public Security’s Department of Traffic Police, said more than91,000 cases of alcohol concentration violations were handled by functionalforces last year.
In the first four months of this year, nearly 50,000 cases of alcoholconcentration violations were dealt with.
However, according to Nhat, the sanction of the traffic police was not enough."We need a stricter legal environment with clear binding so that roadusers don't dare to violate when they think of administrative sanctions andregulations on the management of driving licences,” he told An Ninh ThủĐô (Capital Security) newspaper.-VNS/VNS
VNA
