Why is the 'drinking and drinking allowed' rule?

The two plans proposed by the Ministry of Health in the draft law on prevention of alcohol harms, when submitted to the National Assembly, were not approved by more than 50% of deputies.

The Ministry of Health presides over the development of the Law on Alcohol Prevention and Control , which takes 10 years from the date of drafting, solicitation, approval, etc. The Law has been passed by the National Assembly on June 14, 2019, effective January 1, 2020, of which the most popular regulation is the ban on drinking alcohol while driving .

Decree 100 regulating sanctions against administrative violations in the field of road and rail transport takes effect from 1/1/2020, drivers including cars, motorcycles, bicycles, will be sanctioned if blood alcohol content exceeds 0. The highest fine for cyclists is VND 600,000; motorbikes of 6 to 8 million dong, depriving of the driving license for 22-24 months; cars 30 to 40 million dong, stripping the driving license for 22-24 months. This penalty is 2 times higher than before.

Many questions have been raised as to why regulating a driver's blood alcohol level to zero without allowing a higher%; or drinking fermented fruit is said to increase blood alcohol content .

Ms. Tran Thi Trang, Deputy Director of the Legal Department, Ministry of Health, said: " This is the strongest risk warning to prevent" drinking alcohol and not driving "" .

According to Ms. Trang, before submitting the draft law on prevention and control of alcohol harm to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Health has consulted with related parties and agreed to propose two options.

• Option 1: It is forbidden to control vehicles when there is alcohol in the blood or breathing air.
• Option 2 : It is prohibited to operate means of transport in the blood or breathing air with alcohol content exceeding the law provisions on traffic safety. Specifically, the alcohol content does not exceed 30 mg / 100 ml of blood, or not more than 0.15 mg / liter of breathing air.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly has consulted the National Assembly deputies on these two options. As a result, these options have not been approved by more than 50% of deputies.

At that time, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly realized that in the context of more and more traffic accidents related to the use of alcohol and beer, causing very serious consequences, the " ban on controlling vehicles" was banned . but blood or breath alcohol content is necessary. Therefore, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly proposed to supplement regulations prohibiting the control of vehicles whose blood or breath has alcohol content.

Prior to this proposal, 77.2% of National Assembly deputies voted in favor of "drinking alcohol without beer while driving", in the Law on Prevention and Control of Alcohol and Beer Harm, on 14 / 6/2019.

The Road Traffic Law was later amended to "drive away from drinking alcohol".

Specifically, Clause 8, Article 8 of the Road Traffic Law earlier prohibited "driving an automobile in which blood or breath has alcohol content" , especially motorbike drivers only forbid when "blood alcohol content exceeds". more than 50 mg / 100 ml of blood or 0.25 mg / liter of breathing gas " . In order to synchronize with the anti-alcohol law, this provision is amended to prohibit "drivers of cars, motorcycles, motorcycles, tractors, special-use vehicles on the road from blood or breath concentration. alcohol". That is, the alcohol concentration in the driver's blood is zero.

Check the alcohol content in Ha Dong (Hanoi).(Photo: Ngoc Thanh).

According to Trang, 10 years now, the Road Traffic Law has stipulated that no alcohol content in blood and breathing can drive, people do not react. Now, the new law adds motorbikes and the new penalty should have many opinions.

However, Ms. Trang said: "The new penalty is not high, many countries still imprison violators even though it does not cause serious consequences".

Japan fined 5,000-10,000 USD, England and Singapore about 4,000 USD (about 1-2 months salary). The offender will also be sentenced to 3-6 months of imprisonment, such as in the UK and Singapore, with a 3-year prison term in Japan and South Korea, accompanied by stripping of the certificate, subject to public labor and re-studying the law and retaking the diploma. If recidivism is committed, the offender will incur a progressive penalty many times higher.

Mr. Dang Thuan Phong, Vice Chairman of the Social Affairs Committee, recently shared with PV that he most liked the rule that "if you drink alcohol, you cannot drive" . This is a drastic message, consulted many times. The new fine is a solution to the economy, helping people gradually change their perceptions and behaviors.

According to Mr. Phong, banning driving while drinking alcohol will reduce the demand for alcohol, thereby reducing the supply, overcoming the consequences caused by alcohol.

In fact, in the first 7 days after the law took effect, the number of patients admitted to hospitals in Hanoi for emergency due to traffic accidents related to alcohol has decreased sharply, even down to 50% at Thanh Hospital. Idle.

In Vietnam, the rate of alcohol use increases rapidly. The rate of alcohol use among teenagers and young people increased by nearly 10% after 5 years. The rate of drinking alcohol is harmful - ie 6 or more units of alcohol in a single drink up to 44%. The use of alcohol is harmful to health, causing many diseases. In particular, the situation of traffic accidents caused by alcohol is quite high. Therefore strong measures are needed to reduce these rates.

" There is no safety threshold for alcohol. The biggest purpose of the Law is to raise awareness and awareness of safe use of alcohol , limiting the harmful effects of alcohol on health, social order and safety. including traffic safety, " said Trang.

According to Trang, it is best not to drink alcohol. If you drink, limit it to a low risk. And absolutely do not drink alcohol before driving .

• Eating these fruits will cause the alcohol content to increase
• Alcohol content of all types of wine in Vietnam
• Alcohol content of all types of beer in Vietnam
• How long does it take to drink alcohol after driving?