Drunk driving is a serious problem in Vietnam that often has fatal consequences. To address this social ill, three Vietnamese cities are launching a pilot program that they hope will get drunk drivers off the road.

The campaign, “Restaurants for the sake of traffic safety,” set to launch next January, works with bars and restaurants to arrange transportation home for “drunkards” whether by taxi or staff vehicles in addition to cutting off the flow of alcohol to inebriated guests, reports Tuoi Tre.

The program follows similar schemes in China and South Korea which have not only reduced traffic accidents, but provided more work for drivers, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

In addition to being a public concern, drunk driving in Vietnam is also an economic one. According to Nguyen Hoang Hiep, deputy chairman of the committee, the country lost 2.6 percent of its GDP, or US$3.5 billion, to traffic accidents related to drinking and driving in 2012.

While some like Bui Danh Lien, chairman of Hanoi Goods Transport Association, doubted the potential of the pilot program - “Other countries have applied this service successfully thanks to the high intellectual levels of their people. But in Vietnam, this service will be hard to be implemented,” – many predicted that customers will prefer to eat and drink at venues that offer the service.

Either way, it’s worth a shot.

[Photo via Jonathan Kos-Read]