In an effort to crack down on drunk driving next year, a greater focus is to be put on drivers aged 18 to 24, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-jong (祁文中) said yesterday.
The government will show zero tolerance for drunk driving instead of just trying to reduce the casualties that result from it, Chi said during a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei.
The ministry also intends to implement measures to discourage motorists from driving under the influence of alcohol, Chi said.
For example, the number of hours of correctional classes that those convicted of drunk driving would be required to attend is to be raised from four hours to six, while repeat offenders would have to take 12 hours of classes, instead of six.
According to the National Police Agency, there were 96,676 drunk driving cases in the first 11 months of this year, compared with 100,079 during the same period last year.
A total of 94 lives were lost in traffic accidents related to drunk driving during the 11-month period, 38 fewer than in the same period of last year.
At the legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) proposed amending the Act Governing Punishments for Violations of Road Traffic Regulations (道路交通管理處罰條例) in the next legislative session to stipulate that drunk drivers must help clean the bodies of people killed as a result of them driving under the influence, with consent from the victims’ families.
DPP Legislator Cheng Pao-ching (鄭寶清) also proposed that civil servants caught drunk driving should be referred to the Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries for punishment.
Currently, with the exception of police officers, civil servant offenders are not always given that punishment, Cheng said.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said the ministry would schedule discussions among related authorities about the proposed measure.
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A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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