Handling of alcohol concentration violations must be based on traffic participation awareness.

The Deputy Head of the Department of Administrative Criminal Law, Ministry of Justice, said that whether or not to absolutely ban alcohol concentration must be based on scientific properties, practicality and people's traffic awareness.

At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Justice on the afternoon of April 12, in response to the question of whether alcohol concentration should be absolutely banned when driving, Ms. Le Thi Van Anh (Deputy Director of the Department of Administrative Criminal Law) said that there are two different opinions on this matter.

The 2019 Law on Prevention of Alcohol Harm clearly stipulates prohibited acts, including the prohibition of driving while having alcohol in the blood or breath.

Ms. Le Thi Van Anh, Deputy Director of the Department of Administrative Criminal Law, Ministry of Justice.

According to the Deputy Head of the Department of Administrative Criminal Law, the Ministry of Justice is the agency participating in the appraisal and giving opinions on the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety.

The Ministry of Justice has also requested the Ministry of Public Security to coordinate with the Ministry of Health to conduct scientific research, ensuring compliance with reality, compliance with people's traffic awareness, ensuring harmony between people's interests and effectiveness in state management, and unity of the entire legal system.

This is to ensure regulation.

Previously, on the morning of March 27, delegates discussed the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety. The issue of absolute prohibition of alcohol concentration while driving continued to receive the attention of many delegates.

Delegate Pham Van Hoa ( Dong Thap delegation) is a supporter of the proposal to have a minimum alcohol concentration threshold when driving. He said: Currently, there are twice as many rural workers as urban workers. In urban areas, there are drivers (taxi drivers, private drivers), but ordinary workers in the Northeast, Northwest, and Mekong Delta do not have drivers. If the regulation is 100% alcohol-free, it is not feasible.

“If I drink one glass of beer or one glass of wine, I don’t know about others, but my mind is still normal and I can still drive well. Drinking one glass of beer while not being alert enough to drive is not appropriate,” a delegate from Dong Thap province cited.

Considering that Vietnamese people have a long-standing tradition of drinking a little alcohol or beer at parties and weddings, delegate Hoa expressed full support for "if you drink alcohol or beer, do not drive" but "if you drink the day before and still have alcohol levels this morning, if you are fined by the traffic police, it would be unreasonable". Mr. Hoa suggested that the National Assembly consider and the health agency also need to coordinate to calculate this issue.

Meanwhile, delegate Ly Thi Lan (Ha Giang delegation) expressed support for the plan to absolutely ban alcohol concentration when driving. Ms. Lan cited that during Tet, in rural areas, when going from one village to another, or visiting to wish a happy new year, people can hardly avoid drinking a glass of wine or a glass of beer.

The female delegate requested that authorities avoid abusing the law's provisions to impose fines and inspect, causing people to feel negative toward the authorities.

Ms. Lan cited the recent incident on social media where many images were posted during Tet, when authorities went to rural areas, where it is very difficult to check alcohol levels and fine people.

"This causes disgust, so we need to consider punishment, inspection and should be more flexible, suitable to cultural features," delegate Lan suggested.

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