Rethinking the drunk driving law

ACCORDING to the World Health Organization (WHO), driving under the influence of alcohol is the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 29 and a contributing factor in at least 27 percent of all road deaths or injuries worldwide. Most governments impose strict laws against drunk driving, but it remains a stubborn problem that exacts a heavy cost on people and communities. Here in the Philippines, statistics show that one-fourth to one-third of traffic accidents are alcohol-related, accounting for about 3,000 fatalities annually.

Recent news from Vietnam sheds an interesting light on the problem of drunk driving and the government’s efforts to change public behavior. As reported in a brief story by Bloomberg last week, the government in Hanoi has recently come under heavy pressure from Vietnam’s beverage and restaurant industries, who say that a draconian anti-drunk driving law is severely hurting their businesses.

Vietnam has an energetic drinking culture. According to a representative from the WHO office in Vietnam, about 2 in 3 Vietnamese men regularly consume alcoholic beverages, compared with about 1 in 10 women. On a national level, Vietnam accounts for 50 percent of all beer sales in Southeast Asia. Among other social effects, this prodigious consumption has led to a soaring rate of deaths attributable to alcohol, the majority in road accidents. According to the WHO office, alcohol-related deaths in Vietnam rose from about 11,500 in 2000 to nearly 53,000 in 2019.

Vietnam’s zero-tolerance policy

That prompted the government to take strong action, which it did with the implementation of a law in 2020 that bans any blood-alcohol level whatsoever for drivers. The government’s action was also supported by public outcry, including a grassroots social media campaign and even a rare public protest in Hanoi. Under the new zero-tolerance policy, violators are subject to license suspension and stiff fines if they are caught driving under the influence, and involvement in an alcohol-related accident, even when no injuries result, is punishable by a jail sentence.

In less than four years, the law has had a remarkable effect on changing public behavior. Data from the WHO and Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security show that alcohol-related traffic accidents dropped by 25 percent in 2023 compared with 2022, and alcohol-related traffic deaths were reduced by 50 percent. Among those who drink regularly, the rate of driving within two hours of having a drink was reported to have declined from 45 percent in 2015 to about 27 in 2021 and is expected to have dropped even further since then. Part of this may be attributed to some bars and restaurants taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the new law to offer transportation services for their customers, according to the Bloomberg article.

The Ministry of Health has said that it is reviewing the law in light of the complaints from the beverage industry, but many Vietnamese citizens, particularly women, have already taken to social media to demand the law remain as it is, Bloomberg reported. One woman’s online comments were, “Since the regulation on alcohol went into effect, my husband rarely goes out to drink and has more time to help with housework and teaching the children. So wonderful.”

The news from Vietnam is enlightening in view of the Philippines’ own persistent problem with drunk driving and its resulting human and material costs. We already have a reasonably strict law that sets a blood-alcohol content limit of 0.05 percent for car drivers and zero percent for drivers of trucks, buses, motorcycles and public utility vehicles. Yet several thousand Filipinos are still injured or killed each year in alcohol-related accidents.

Clearly, the first step the government should take is to critically examine and implement immediate improvements to the enforcement of the existing law. This seems a common refrain with many of our laws, but it is particularly important here because of the impact on lives and families. Better enforcement alone should improve the Philippines’ grim statistics and encourage healthier and more responsible behavior. If it does not, however, or falls short of expectations, then perhaps the government should consider following Vietnam’s lead and making the law even stronger.