Does Drinking Alcohol and Driving Result in Penalties Against the Road Traffic Law?

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 All new penalty levels for cars and motorcycles from January 1, 2020

Regarding this matter, Legal Secretary explains as follows:

According to the provisions of Clause 8, Article 8 of the Law on Road Traffic 2008, prohibited acts include:

“8. Driving cars, tractors, special-use motorcycles on the road with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath.

Driving motorbikes or motorcycles with alcohol concentration in the blood exceeding 50 milligrams/100 milliliters of blood or 0.25 milligrams/1 liter of breath.”

Meanwhile, Clause 6, Article 5 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer 2019 stipulates prohibited acts as follows:

“6. Driving vehicles with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath.”

It can be seen that the two provisions in the above two documents are contradictory. While the Law on Road Traffic 2008 stipulates the prohibited alcohol concentration threshold, the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer 2019 completely removes this threshold and at the same time strictly prohibits driving vehicles with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath. This means that according to the provisions of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer 2019, just having alcohol concentration in the blood or breath is a violation, regardless of the amount.

However, during the law drafting process, the National Assembly recognized this contradiction. Therefore, in the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer 2019, there is a provision to amend Clause 8, Article 8 of the Law on Road Traffic 2008.

Specifically, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer 2019:

“1. Amend, supplement Clause 8, Article 8 of Law on Road Traffic No. 23/2008/QH12, as amended and supplemented with some articles under Law No. 35/2018/QH14 as follows:

“8. Driving vehicles participating in road traffic with alcohol concentration in the blood or breath.””

As such, the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol, Beer 2019 has adjusted the Law on Road Traffic 2008, strictly prohibiting the use of alcohol while operating vehicles participating in traffic, regardless of the alcohol concentration level.

Therefore, Decree 100/2019/ND-CP was issued stipulating the penalty levels for drivers consuming alcohol, regardless of how much, for all vehicles, which is appropriate and not contrary to the provisions of the Law on Road Traffic 2008.

In summary, Decree 100/2019/ND-CP does not exceed the law or contravene the law. The early issuance of this Decree also demonstrates the commitment of the Communist Party and State to minimize the number of traffic accidents caused by alcohol, especially during the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Toan Trung

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