It is reported that from December 15, 2022 to January 5, 2023, 4,344 cases of alcohol-related violations were handled in the capital, with more than VND 23 billion (US$950,000) of fines collected and 2,352 driving licenses revoked. On average, nearly 200 violations of this type were detected and handled each day.

In 2022, Hanoi traffic police penalized a total of 17,200 drunk drivers, about 8,800 more people than in 2021, and an increase of over 194% over 2020.

Notably, the functional forces detected some cases of violations with super-high blood alcohol contents compared to the provisions of Decree 100/ND-CP. Despite the harsh punitive measures, some drivers had a BAC of 1.58%, four times the limit.

According to Decree 100/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 which regulates administrative fines for infractions committed in road and rail transport, a drunk motorcycle driver can receive a minimum fine of VND2-3 million (US$83-$125) and obtain a suspension of at least 10 months. Also subject to a 10-month suspension, a drunk car driver can receive a minimum fine of VND6-8 million.

The blood alcohol level allowed by Decree 100 ranges between 0.25% and 0.40%, both for motorcycle and car drivers.

The Hanoi Traffic Police said that there were always two teams to conduct breathalyzer tests on vehicle drivers and that the two teams used to exchange their posts to better perform their tasks.

Dinh Hieu