VietNamNet Bridge – Each day Vietnam has around 25 people killed on the road. Official statistics actually show that the first two months of the year saw 1,567 people dying in 4,115 traffic accidents. That’s really frightening.

In a morning newspaper, people can easily spot at least a piece of news about a road accident. Drunk driving has been identified as one of the major causes.

Therefore, it is normal for the National Traffic Safety Committee to propose stricter measures against violations of traffic rules, including confiscating vehicles of those found to be heavily drunk.

Nevertheless, the proposed confiscation of autos and motorcycles from drunk drivers has been met with mixed reactions regarding the lawful asset ownership of citizens and the feasibility of the measure.

To make the case, the committee says 536 traffic accidents happened during the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) from February 15 to 23, with 317 killed and 509 others injured.

According to the committee’s proposal, if the blood alcohol level of auto drivers is below 80 mg per 100 ml of blood, they should be fined VND8 million to VND20 million, be deprived of driving licenses for six to 12 months and retake a driving test. But if it is above 80 mg per 100 ml of blood, they would have their driving licenses suspended for two years and their vehicles confiscated, plus a driving test.

The proposed sanctions against motorcycle users with blood alcohol content above 80 mg per 100 ml of blood are the same.

Khuat Viet Hung, vice chairman of the committee, said the committee has proposed such measures because many of the road accidents and deaths in the recent Lunar New Year holiday involved drunk driving.

In an interview with VTC News, Hung says the existing penalties provided in Government Decree 171/2013/ND-CP issued in 2013 are not strong enough to deter drivers from breaking the alcohol level limit.

The first and foremost goals of the newly proposed measures are to raise awareness of responsible driving and weed out drunk driving, instead of collecting fines and confiscating vehicles, he noted.

“We want people to keep in mind that they might be heavily punished if they violate the rules.”

According to him, many countries have succeeded in reducing casualties in traffic accidents by adopting strict sanctions. The committee, he said, will be looking into both positive and negative comments on the proposal it has received.

Showing support for the strong measures sought by the committee, lawyer Thai Van Chung at Nguyen Giap law firm says such measures are necessary as motorcycles are involved in 70-80% of road accidents.

Though the committee has its own reasons to make the case, there is concern about the workability of the proposal as many, especially lawmakers, said the suggested confiscation of vehicles in traffic rule violations might amount to an infringement of citizens’ asset ownership protected by law.

Le Hong Son, head of the Department of Examination of Legal Normative Documents at the Ministry of Justice, is quoted by the local news site VnExpress as saying the prevailing traffic regulations allow for temporarily seizure of vehicles or financial sanctions against violators. Therefore, the proposed confiscation of vehicles involved in traffic rule infringements might not work as it violates the asset ownership right protected by the Constitution.

Dinh Xuan Thao, head of the National Assembly’s Legislative Research Institute, has the same view, saying on VnExpress that the vehicle confiscation proposal sounds inappropriate as vehicles are citizens’ legitimate assets, so they cannot be confiscated. “Those violating the rules may use a borrowed vehicle. How can the law enforcement agencies confiscate a vehicle when its owner does not commit a violation?” Thao asked.

According to transport expert Pham Sanh, instead of confiscating vehicles, violators should be handed hefty fines, which might be far higher than the value of a vehicle involved in a violation.

“I think the National Traffic Safety Committee and the Ministry of Transport have made proposals without due consideration. Any new policy should be adopted in a way that ensures viability and compatibility with the current laws and regulations,” Sanh said.    

SGT