The National Traffic Safety Committee’s controversial proposal to confiscate vehicles of drunk drivers and motorcycles entering expressways led to a heated debate at a talk in Hanoi on Wednesday.

A participating lawyer asked for a show of hands to express approval or disapproval of the proposal but was immediately stopped by lawyer Tran Vu Hai, one of the members who presided over the talk.

“I request you to stop,” said Hai.

Vice chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung, who has made headlines since he floated the vehicle confiscation proposal, also asked him not to conduct such a vote.  

Before being prevented by the two co-chairs of the talk, the lawyer said the draft law on referendum is being considered, so he proposed attendees raise their hands to go for or against the proposal.

His request for a show of hands was backed by a big applause by participants at the event, which was held by the Center for Media in Educating Community (MEC) and the Law Office of Tran Vu Hai. 

But as the request was met with objections by the two co-chairs, the vote was not held.

Hung said in his opening remarks that Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had assigned the ministries of transport, public security, and justice, and other relevant agencies to consider the committee’s proposal and report it to the Government at the end of this month.

Hung said the proposal is aimed at protecting the lives and assets of drivers and their passengers on the road. He emphasized a stop to drink driving.  

Hai agreed with Hung’s view, saying the proposal does not go against the Constitution and the Civil Code. He described drink driving as dangerous as playing with a gun or a grenade.

National Assembly deputy Nguyen Sy Cuong threw support behind the proposal to confiscate vehicles of drunk drivers, saying he found no reason for not putting such a proposal into practice to prevent traffic violations.

However, many others have their own reasons to oppose the proposal.

Phan Huu Thu, former director of the Judicial Academy, requested not to confiscate vehicles of first-time offenders but of those repeating violations.

Thu was concerned that whether the proposal is contrary to the Government’s poverty reduction policy when a poor family may have its only bike used to earn a living confiscated.

“The committee has not weighed many issues,” Thu warned.

Dr. Dong Xuan Thanh, former lecturer at HCMC University of Industry, agreed that the sanction to confiscate vehicles should not be imposed now as its feasibility needs due consideration.

According to MEC, an online survey conducted on the OtoFun site showed 1,407 out of 1,718 respondents are against the proposal and 75.7% of respondents on the forum of young journalists on Facebook oppose it. Surveys of many newspapers also found their readers prefer hefty fines to vehicle confiscation.

But more importantly, the legal form of the proposal was not made clear at the talk. Whether the sanction to confiscate vehicles would be regulated in a Government decree, a ministerial circular or a decision is unknown.

In a document comprising of the proposal sent to the Government late last month, the National Traffic Safety Committee proposed issuing a document guiding the implementation of the proposal expected to begin this Sunday (March 15).