With year-end banquets expected to be held across the nation from this month through February, the peak season for drunk driving is approaching, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
The annual banquets, known as wei ya (尾牙), are traditionally held ahead of the Lunar New Year as a way for employers to show their appreciation for employees’ hard work throughout the year and to offer an opportunity for companies to improve the relationship between employees and employers.
Speaking at an event to raise awareness about the threat of drunk driving, Ko compared the habit to an epidemic that requires a timely warning before an outbreak is expected.
He called on businesses to urge their employees not to drive while inebriated and set forth provisions to deter drunk driving.
The mayor said that nearly 10,000 cases of drunk driving last year caused deaths or injuries, part of a “lose-lose” situation both for the drunk drivers, who face legal liabilities, and those who were affected.
Ko said that although Taipei has had relatively fewer fatalities compared with other municipalities thanks to the Taipei Police Department efforts to catch violators, the feat comes at the cost of detaining large numbers of alleged violators.
Citing a news story in October, Ko said that drunk drivers at one point occupied a quarter of the cells at the Taichung Detention Center, indicating that the government has not done enough to raise awareness about the risks of drunk driving.
Ko said that he hopes the Taipei Department of Social Affairs can work harder to educate people on the risks of drunk driving to “eliminate drunk driving altogether,” rather than the police detaining drunk drivers.
The city government yesterday issued a joint declaration with 30 enterprises, including event co-organizers EasyCard Corp and news outlet Business Today, vowing to protect motorists by formulating corporate statutes to prohibit drunk driving.
In related news, EasyCard yesterday launched a collaborative project with transport operator Taiwan Taxi to install card readers on 13,000 cabs.
The city previously had about 3,000 cabs equipped with EasyCard readers, and the larger fleet of cabs accepting EasyCards would greatly improve convenience and encourage more people to take taxis after drinking, the company said.
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