Part 1: Late regret
The brakes failed, claiming 2 lives
Serving a prison sentence for more than 4 years at Phu Son 4 Detention Center (Ministry of Public Security), but every time he recalls the traffic accident that killed 2 people and injured many others at the foot of Bai Chay bridge that year, driver Nguyen Xuan H, 38 years old, from Phu Luong, Thai Nguyen still cannot let go of the obsession.
“If only I had not been subjective and checked the car for safety before departing, the accident would not have happened,” prisoner H shared.
Many drivers, when caught up in legal trouble, feel regretful for a minute of being subjective and disregarding the law while behind the wheel.
H said, on the morning of July 27, 2019, he drove a 45-seat passenger car on the Hanoi – Quang Ninh route on National Highway 18A. Near the foot of Bai Chay Bridge in Ha Long City, the car lost control and crashed into many cars and people on the road. As a result, 2 people died, 4 people were injured, and 20 vehicles were damaged.
The series of days serving his sentence in Phu Son 4 prison was a long time for driver H. “In the first days here, I always felt regretful and tormented because I did not check carefully, so I did not detect Now the car shows signs of brake failure,” H said.
According to H, despite many years of driving long-distance buses, his carelessness and complacency that day cost him a harsh prison sentence. After H went to prison, his wife in the countryside, who did not have a stable job, now had to bear the additional burden of taking care of and raising his two young children in elementary school.
“I’m actively improving and hope to return soon to help my wife and take care of my family,” H hoped.
Drugs and alcohol cause blurred vision
A former passenger bus driver before going to prison, prisoner Dinh Duc Q (from Thai Nguyen) always feels pain every time he remembers the scene of the 8-ton truck he was driving causing a fatal accident.
Prisoner Q said he had used drugs for a long time, during his days on the streets, many times he wanted to end his drug addiction but could not give up. Then what must happen, after using drugs, Q caused an accident and received a 4-year prison sentence.
After two years of repentance in prison, the prisoner said he realized many things: “I will soon rebuild my life. I also hope that if anyone does not know about drugs, they will never try it.”
Leaders of Phu Son 4 Prison said that during the process of serving sentences for traffic accidents, they were given vocational education by prison officials such as mechanics, tailoring, welding, carpentry… Before When prisoners reintegrate into the community, the prison often invites officers from the Traffic Police Department of Thai Nguyen Provincial Police to talk and propagate the provisions of the law.
As for prisoner Le Van V (from Lang Son), only 19 years old, he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison. V said, on the evening of October 23, 2022, he went out drinking with some friends. Even though he was drunk, he still tried to pick up an acquaintance. Approaching the intersection of Provincial Road 295B, passing through Quang Chau commune, Viet Yen district (Bac Giang), V hit the motorbike driven by Mr. D.CK. Mr. K died soon after.
At the time of the accident, V did not have a driver’s license and had alcohol in his body. After nearly a year of serving his sentence, V always regretted it. “I was the hope of the whole family, but now I’m going to jail. I just wish I could turn back time so I wouldn’t make the same mistake. If I hadn’t drunk and driven, I wouldn’t have taken that person’s life.” , V confided.
Being poor and still having trouble with labor
Lawyer Dang Van Cuong, Head of Chinh Phap Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association) shared that he has participated in defending dozens of cases related to traffic accidents, protecting the rights of victims and also defending the victims. cure the defendants. Whether it’s the victim’s family or the defendant, traffic accidents are still painful and haunting.
“I have witnessed many lives where the person causing the traffic accident was a poor worker while the traffic accident caused serious consequences, the compensation for the victim was up to several hundred million dong.
In cases where the victim has to stay in the hospital for long-term treatment, the compensation and support are very large, the family of the person who caused the accident cannot compensate,” lawyer Cuong said, adding that there are drivers who fall into this cycle. Working hard makes the wife, children, and elderly parents at home exhausted.
In many cases, because it is too difficult to compensate the victim, even after serving the sentence, civil obligations are still not fulfilled, causing the sentence to last for a lifetime.
“I still remember, there was a bus driver who, just because he was upset about love, got so drunk that he was still not alert during his shift. This guy caused an accident that left the victim seriously injured. The compensation has been paid. causing the family’s economy to collapse,” lawyer Cuong said.
Think about the consequences so you don’t have to say what if
What Mr. Cuong noticed when participating in many trials of traffic accident cases is that the person causing the accident often intentionally violates traffic laws but is not aware of the consequences. Therefore, when a fatal accident occurs, most drivers are in a state of anxiety, fear to the point of collapse, or regret, torment themselves and perhaps be haunted for the rest of their lives.
Sharing with reporters, lawyer Tran Viet, Trung Hoa Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association) said that if anyone could imagine the deadly consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving in the opposite direction, overtaking red lights and lane encroachment, there would not be as many unfortunate accidents as there are today.
Recalling the case of two young men driving a motorbike after drinking alcohol, going in the opposite direction causing a traffic accident with a taxi, killing the person sitting on the back of the motorbike, and seriously injuring the driver, lawyer Viet advised: “The person who died It leaves behind pain for those who stay behind, those who are still alive are stuck in legal trouble, and those who are injured lose their ability to work. Anyone who has been involved in a serious traffic accident also suffers from these events. change lives”.
In recent years, although the number of traffic accidents has gradually decreased, every day there are still many people who leave home but never return; Many people suffered lifelong disabilities and many families suddenly fell into tragedy. Accidents are not only an obsession for the victims’ relatives, but also a torment for those directly behind the wheel.
