Summary of Vietnamese judgments on traffic accidents when the victim has an alcohol concentration

When a road user has an alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit and causes an accident, the aggravating circumstance will be applied "In the state of under the influence of alcohol with blood or breath alcohol content above the limit." according to Point b, Clause 2, Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam. Therefore, if the victim has an alcohol content, does it affect the decision on punishment for the person who caused the accident? You can refer to some of the following versions:

1. Judgment 37/2020/HS-PT dated March 6, 2020 on the crime of violating regulations on participating in road traffic

- Judgment level:  Appellate

- Judicial agency:  People's Court of Tien Giang province.

- Quote from the content: "Around 4:30 p.m on April 28, 2019, Nguyen Ngoc C, born 1974, drove a motorcycle with license plate xx from the direction of T5 commune to T6 commune. On the road in Tan Dinh hamlet, T6 commune, due to not controlling the speed, encroaching on the left side of the road, he collided with a motorbike with license plate number 63U1- xx driven by Mr. Nguyen Van T1 born in 1965, living in hamlet T4, commune T5 driving in the opposite direction. As a result, Mr. T1 died, and defendant C injured his shoulder. According to the conclusion of the forensic examination of the body No. 105/2019/TTh dated April 28, 2019 of the Forensic Center of Tien Giang province signed and confirmed by Director Pham Cong Truc, The cause of death was due to subdural hemorrhage in both cerebral hemispheres, medullary, pons, and cerebellar hemorrhage, rupture of the left anterior sphenoid ethmoid and blood alcohol concentration of 207mg/dl. According to the certificate of blood alcohol test results at the T3 district health centre on April 29, 2019, the blood alcohol concentration of Nguyen Ngoc C at the time of admission was 135.76 mg/dl.”

2. Judgment  44/2019/HS-PT dated May 23, 2019 on the crime of violating the regulations on participating in road traffic

- Judgment level:  Appellate

- Judicial agency:  People's Court of Ben Tre province.

- Quoting the content: “... the extenuating circumstance is that during the investigation stage and at the trial, the defendant sincerely declared, repented and voluntarily compensated and remedied the consequences for the victim's family. In addition, the legal representative of the victim admitted that the victim was partly at fault for driving when his blood alcohol concentration exceeded the legal limit, although this was not the main fault leading to the accident and applied for mitigation of penalties for the accused, the mitigating circumstances of penal liability as prescribed at Points b and s Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 51 of the Penal Code and the application of Article 54 of the Criminal Code shall punish the accused for 1 year and 6 months in prison.”

3. Judgment 52/2017/HSST dated 24/07/2017 on the crime of violating the provisions of conditions for road traffic development

- Level of trial:  First instance

- Judicial agency:  People's Court of Cai Be district, Tien Giang province.

- Quote content: Around 19:15, on March 15, 2017, after drinking alcohol with an alcohol concentration exceeding the prescribed limit, Nguyen Bao Q drove a motorcycle with a license plate 63B1-xx circulating on provincial road 869 in the direction of An Cu commune to Hau My Bac commune, Cai Be district. When Q drove the car to km 03 + 350m, Cai Nua market area in Hau Hoa hamlet, Hau Thanh commune, Cai Be district, Tien Giang province, he saw Mr. Pham Van C, born in 1969, permanent resident of hamlet 5, commune D, district T, Dong Thap province is leading a bicycle to walk across the street in the direction from left to right compared to his direction, about 05m away. At this time, because he couldn't handle it in time, Q let his motorcycle hit the right side of Mr. C's bicycle, causing both C and the bike to fall on the road, then Mr. C was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment and on March 17, 2017 died. The results of an alcohol test on March 16, 2017 of Cai Be General Hospital determined: Nguyen Bao Q's blood alcohol concentration was 68MG/DL and victim C was 92MG/DL.

4. Judgment 61/2018/HS-ST dated October 26, 2018 for violating the provisions of conditions for road traffic development

- Level of trial:  First instance

- Judicial agency:  People's Court of Yen Lac district, Vinh Phuc province.

- Quoting the content: "Considering the very serious nature of the judgment, the defendant's criminal act is dangerous to society and has directly infringed on public safety and order, causing damage to the life of another person protected by law. According to this situation, when the defendant is driving a motorcycle with an alcohol concentration exceeding 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood (128.1 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood); the defendant when operating a motorcycle without a driver's license as prescribed; do not follow the prescribed road section and do not comply with the regulations on vehicle speed on the road. Violating provisions of Clauses 8, 9, Article 8, Clause 1, Article 9 and Clause 1, Article 12  of the Law on Road Traffic.”

5. Judgment 35/2019/HS-ST dated March 14, 2019 for violating regulations on participating in road traffic

- Level of trial:  First instance

- Judicial agency:  People's Court of Trang Bom district, Dong Nai province.

- Quoting the content: "The cause of the accident was partly due to the defendant's fault when participating in traffic with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding the permitted level and unsafely changing the direction of the vehicle, causing a collision with the victim's car, Mr. Vien Van T. In addition, the victim in this case also had a partial fault when participating in traffic, but the blood alcohol concentration exceeded the permissible level, and at the same time could not control the steering wheel when participating in traffic. . At the trial, the defendant sincerely confessed, repented and made compensation and remedial measures for the victim's family and received an application from the victim's family to reduce the sentence for the defendant."

6. Judgment 09/2017/HSST dated 14/07/2017 on the crime of violating the provisions of conditions for road traffic development

- Level of trial:  First instance

- Judicial agency:  People's Court of Cam Lo district, Quang Tri province.

- Quoting the content: "After drinking alcohol, Le Nhat L has a driving license as prescribed, driving a motorbike with control plate 74H2 - xxx going from village road PA 2, commune CN, diverting to Provincial Road DT 585 in the direction of CN - CC, he collided with the motorcycle of Mr. Dinh Van T who was traveling on Provincial Road 585 in the direction of CC commune to CN commune, causing an accident, resulting in Mr. Dinh Van T's death due to abdominal trauma; 94/LKGD – PC54 dated February 17, 2017 of PC54 Division of Quang Tri Provincial Police concluded: The cause of death of Mr. Dinh Van T was abdominal trauma, blood alcohol concentration was 281.1 mg/dl. At the Minutes of working on the alcohol test dated February 5, 2017, measured in Le Nhat L's breath, the alcohol concentration was measured at 0.727mg/L on the alcohol meter system number SN 856635, verified by the Vietnam Metrology Institute.”

Please Login to be able to download