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Alcohol on the roads is not just a police issue

The National Police Agency (NPA) has suggested the Ministry of Transportation and Communications implement strict penalties to put an end to drunk driving.

Presently, blood alcohol levels between 0.25mg and 0.55mg result in a fine between NT$15,000 and NT$60,000, on-the-spot confiscation of the vehicle and a one-year license suspension.

If drunk driving causes injury to another person, the license is suspended for two years, while if it leads to serious injury or death, it is revoked.

If the blood alcohol level exceeds 0.55mg, the penalty is increased and classed as a criminal offense.

The amendment would lower the minimum offending level of 0.25mg to 0.15mg, the same as in Japan, while introducing a concept of mutual responsibility, so that passengers who are aware that a driver has been drinking without stopping him or her from driving will be fined between NT$6,000 and NT$18,000.

It would also increase fines for drunk driving, speeding and offenses against public safety, while increasing penalties for repeat offenders.

The enforcement of traffic laws is an important part of police duties, but because incomes have not increased in recent years, police are now being called robbers as the dangers and hardships of enforcing the law on the road are forgotten.

In the survey of public regard for civil servants carried out every six months by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, traffic police regularly receive the highest dissatisfaction rating. In a survey carried out in late March, the figure was 37.1 percent.

Since police began to implement traffic laws more strictly, there has been a marked drop in traffic injuries and deaths.

But drunk driving has for several consecutive years remained the biggest cause of those deaths.

In 2005, "A1" traffic accidents -- referring to deaths at the scene or within 24 hours of an accident -- showed that 18 percent of accidents were caused by drunk drivers.

This figure was 21 percent in the first six months of this year, a clear sign that stiff penalties are struggling to stop drunk driving.

Although there is a good basis for the NPA's suggestion that penalties be increased for drunk driving, there is a limit to what harsh punishment can achieve.

It is ironic that the more than 46,000 people taken to court for offenses against public safety last year did not receive harsh punishment, and a majority were only given light fines that were sometimes lower than administrative fines.

If strict enforcement of the law is not acceptable to the public, the law will lose public confidence and we will endanger the cornerstone of public safety.

Harsher punishment is not the only road that leads to traffic safety, and police should not take all responsibility for maintaining traffic safety.

Advanced countries not only look to improve road infrastructure and signage to increase traffic safety, but also rely on education in schools and information through the media to consolidate safety concepts.

Judges and prosecutors take the hazards of drunk driving seriously, while elsewhere hospitals provide treatment against alcoholism.

Taken together, all this means that the implementation of traffic laws should not be a burden that the police carry alone.

Sandy Yeh is the president of the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation.

Translated by Perry Svensson
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