The HCM City transport police were yesterday checking up on motorists at the Eastern Region Bus Station to make sure they were driving without using drugs or alcohol.— Photo atgt.vn

HCM CITY — The HCM City transport police were yesterday checking up on motorists at the Eastern Region Bus Station to make sure they were driving without using drugs or alcohol.

The inspection was conducted after a number of accidents caused by motorists either drunk or high.

Earlier this month, four people were killed when a truck driver ploughed through red lights in the southern province of Long An.

Driver Phạm Thanh Hiếu, 32, tested positive for drugs and had a high concentration of alcohol in his blood. 

Last week eight people were killed when a truck hit pedestrians in the Kim Thanh District. Tests revealed the driver had taken methamphetamine.

Yesterday police were divided into three teams to conduct the inspection. The first monitored the gate to check drivers going in and out. The second worked inside checking paperwork and the third patrolled the station area.

Trần Huy Hoàng, a police officer from Bình Thạnh District, said after two hours of checks, only one driver was found to be over the legal alcohol limit.

Hoàng added from now to next week’s Lunar New Year festival, the police will continue inspections to ensure traffic safety.

Vũ Đình Đô, a passenger, said the inspection was necessary, adding that the police should have strong punishment for drivers caught breaking the law.

Earlier on Friday, Bình Thuận Police arrested a driver after he tested positive for methamphetamine while behind the wheel of a long-haul sleeper bus carrying 40 passengers.

The 34-year-old driver was driving on National Highway 1 heading north when he was pulled over by police officers for a random drug test. — VNS