The National Committee for Traffic Safety and the Hà Nội People’s Committee held a parade in the capital on Sunday to call for actions against drunk driving. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — The National Committee for Traffic Safety and the Hà Nội People’s Committee held a parade in the capital on Sunday to call for actions against drunk driving.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình, who is also head of the committee, urged locals and visitors not to drive after drinking.

Bình said the Government will add stricter penalties to punish drivers whose alcohol concentration in their blood or breath exceeds permitted levels.   

He requested competent agencies increase patrols to detect violators and fine them, saying such a move aims to protect violating drivers and the community as a whole.

According to the Deputy PM, the death toll from traffic accidents in Việt Nam decreased from nearly 12,000 in 2012 to more than 8,000 last year. This means traffic accidents, on average, still claim the lives of 21 people and injure 40 others each day.

Recently, drunk drivers caused a series of accidents, particularly two taking place on April 22 and May 1 that took the lives of three people.

Nguyễn Quang Nhật, head of the traffic law dissemination division under the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Traffic Police, said more than 91,000 alcohol related driving law violations were handled by functional forces last year.

In the first four months of 2019, nearly 50,000 cases of alcohol related driving law violations were dealt with. — VNS