Vietnam pilots “taking drunkards home” service

The National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) and the Vietnam Beer Alcohol Beverage Association (VBA) on Sunday signed a cooperation pact to kick-start a program to prevent and control alcohol and beer abuse among drivers nationwide.

This program kicked off only 10 days ahead of the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which falls on February 19. During this holiday, Vietnamese tend to drink more beer and alcohol during celebrations and friend or family gatherings.

In order to conduct the “taking drunkards home” service, the two organizations will coordinate with local traffic safety committees nationwide to build the “Restaurants for the Sake of Traffic Safety” model, which will be piloted in Hanoi, the central city of Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

Nguyen Van Viet, chairman of the VBA, said that the association has set out requirements for restaurants taking part in the program.

Such restaurants are required to stop selling beer or liquor to guests showing signs of drunkenness, advise them not to drive under the influence to avoid danger, offer them assistance by keeping their vehicles at the businesses, and arrange staff to take them home by taxi or in restaurant vehicles.

These restaurants will be provided with training and support to offer the service to their guests, the NTSC said, adding that specific criteria for the selection of eateries and policies to support them will be made available soon.

Such a service has been applied successfully for years in many foreign countries, including China and South Korea, the NTSC said, pointing out that it has contributed to the reduction of traffic accidents and creation of jobs for thousands of people in China.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Khuat Viet Hung, deputy chairman of the NTSC, affirmed that drinking alcohol or beer is not a bad habit, but people should avoid abusing it to avoid regretful consequences, according to news website VnExpress.

Hung cited statistics from the Hanoi-based Viet Duc Hospital as showing that the clinic received as many as 60 victims of traffic accidents within a day during last year’s Tet, 40 of whom were drunk,VnExpress said.

“Many of these victims suffered brain injuries that caused lifetime after-effects. Drink for fun only, and don’t drink to incur suffering,” the newswire quoted Hung as saying.