Can railway employees perform their duties if they are under influence of alcohol in Vietnam?

Can railway employees perform their duties if they are under influence of alcohol in Vietnam?

According to Article 9 of the 2017 Railway Law, there are provisions on prohibited acts in railway activities:

1. Damage railway works and railway vehicles.

2. Illegally occupy the railway safety corridor and the safety perimeter of the railway work

3. Build an illegal crossing; illegally build flyovers, underpasses, culverts or other works built within the land area for rail transport; illegally drill or bore within the safety perimeter of the railway work.

4. Falsify works and railway signaling; hide or falsify railway signals.

5. Obstruct the train operation; arbitrarily use signals or equipment to stop the train, unless a threat to railway safety is found.

6. Trespass the fence, the barrier of the level crossing when the block signal is given; trespass the fences that separate the railway from the surrounding.

7. Discharge untreated sewage onto the railway; place obstacles and dump hazardous substances or waste on the railway; illegally place flammable or explosive substances within the safety perimeter of the railway work and the railway safety corridor.

8. Herd animals and trade goods on railways and within the safety perimeter of the railway work and the railway safety corridor.

9. Walk, stand, lie, sit or perform other acts on the roof of the coach, locomotive, steps; hang, stand, sit on the sides of the coach, locomotive, or connector; open the train doors, poke the head, arm, leg, or other stuff out the coach when the train is running, except for the railway workers and law enforcement officers on duty.

10. Walk, stand, lie, sit or perform other acts on the railway line, except for the railway workers and law enforcement officers on duty.

11. Throw earth, stones, or other objects at or from the train.

12. Bring or transport prohibited goods or animal that carries contagious diseases to the station or to the train; illegally bring or transport wild animals, radioactive/flammable/explosive substances and dangerous goods to the station or the train; bring or transport a corpse or bones to the station or to the train running on urban railways.

13. Make or use fake tickets; sell tickets against the law.

14. Allow a railway vehicle or equipment that fails to meet technical safety requirements to operate on the railway; use the cargo coaches to transport passengers; change the structure, design or functions of the vehicles without permission; assign or allow another person who is ineligible to operate a railway vehicle.

15. Assemble coaches that contain animals, stinky goods, flammable/explosive substances, hazardous substances, or other dangerous goods into a passenger train.

16. Operate trains faster than the speed limits.

17. Railway workers directly serving train operation is under influence of alcohol or other banned stimulants in the performance of their duties.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, railway employees with alcohol on their breath are not allowed to work on shift. In this case, you can smell beer on the ticket checker's breath, so if this person is on shift, it will be a violation of the law.

What is penalty for railway employees who have Breath Alcohol Content in Vietnam? 

In Article 66 of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP, amended by Point a, Clause 24, Article 2 of Decree 123/2021/ND-CP, regulations on penalties incurred by train drivers, co-driver and persons directly operating railway vehicles in service of technology lines of enterprises:

...

5. A fine ranging from VND 6,000,000 to VND 8,000,000 shall be imposed upon a train driver or person directly operating railway vehicles in service of technology lines of enterprises who commits any of the following offences:

a) Operating a train or railway vehicle in service of technology lines of enterprises that exceeds the speed limits in maximum speed order by more than 20 km/h;

b) Working while BAC is less than 50 mg per 100 ml of blood, or BrAC is less than 0.25 mg per liter of breath.

6. A fine ranging from VND 16,000,000 to VND 18,000,000 shall be imposed for working while BAC exceeds 50 mg up to 80 mg per 100 ml of blood, or BrAC exceeds 0.25 mg up to 0.4 mg per liter of breath.

7. A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed for:

a) Working while BAC exceeds 80 mg per 100 ml of blood, or BrAC exceeds 0.4 mg per liter of breath;

b) Failure to comply with the law enforcement officer’s order for testing for alcohol contents or other stimulants prohibited by regulations and law;

c) Working under other stimulants prohibited by the law.

8. Apart from incurring fines, persons committing the violations shall also incur the following additional penalties:

a) The violation(s) specified in Clause 3 and Clause 4 of this Article shall lead to suspension of driving license from 01 month to 03 months;

b) The violation(s) specified in Clause 5 of this Article shall lead to suspension of driving license from 03 months to 05 months;

c) The violation(s) specified in Clause 6 of this Article shall lead to suspension of driving license from 10 months to 12 months;

b) The violation(s) specified in Clause 7 of this Article shall lead to suspension of driving license from 22 months to 24 months.

Therefore, the level of punishment for railway employees with alcohol on their breath depends on each case according to the provisions of law in Vietnam and each case will have different additional penalties according to the above regulations.

Best regards!