Colonel Nguyen Duy Ngoc, head of the Hanoi Traffic Police Department, said that traffic police also dealt with 18,000 other cases during this time. Police seized more than 1,000 vehicles and over 7,000 vehicle certificates.

Besides dealing with traffic rule violators, traffic police combined with mobile and criminal police forces to suppress criminals and social evils. They detected over 2,000 cases, seizing hundreds of knives, fences, tear gas sprayers and a large volume of drugs.

These are the results of the month of traffic safety, focusing on drunken drivers.

Hanoi police set up checkpoints near beer eateries to check drivers for their alcohol content in their breath, by asking them to blow in a disposable breathalyzer pipe connected to a gauge.

According to the current rules, drivers who have alcohol levels above 0.25 mg will be fined from VND200,000 ($9) to VND6 million ($290) and their driving licenses may be revoked.

Specifically, drunk motorbike drivers face a fine of VND200,000-300,000 (US$9.6-14.4) for their alcohol levels of 0.25-0.4 mg per liter of breath and will have their driver’s licenses held by police for 30 days.

For higher alcohol contents, the highest fine is VND500,000-VND1 million ($24-48) and the violators will have their licenses held for 60 days.

Heavier fines are applied for drunk car drivers, with the two respective penalty rates being VND2-3 million ($96-144) and VND4-6 million ($192-288). The respective durations for driver’s licenses to be held are the same as those for drunken motorbike drivers.

The fines double in the two largest cities in Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.