Locks need more reflection
The article on the possible imposition of ignition locks for recidivist drunk drivers points out some of the serious problems related to the idea, most notably the non-existence of ignition locks for motorcycles and scooters (“Government mulls ignition locks for drunk drivers,” Feb. 26, page 1).
However, there is a hidden issue that does not appear to be mentioned. The statement that “the executive Yuan is mulling legislation that would require recidivist drunk drivers to install ignition interlocks in their cars” makes no sense because in Taiwan a large fraction of accidents involve drivers that do not own the car they drive, and this is particularly marked among young car drivers.
The problem arises because insurance rates are based on the characteristics of the car owner and the number of accidents in recent years. The base rates for mature females are much lower than those for young people, and young males in particular, so it is much less expensive for a family to have a car owned by the mother of a young male than to have it owned by the young male.
True, after the young male using the car is involved in many accidents, the rates will rise, but then it seems to be a simple matter to change the owner to a grandmother, aunt or older sister.
What does “their car” mean in this context? Do the laws permit the government to demand that the owner, maybe a distant female relative, install ignition interlocks, because a young male was involved in an incident involving driving in an impaired condition, if the driver was a recidivist driving that car for the first time? Or even if the driver was the exclusive user of that car?
By contrast, in the US, insurance rates on any vehicle owned by a household are based on the person in the household with characteristics corresponding to the highest rating, so it is not easy to play the same games.
When my son reached 18 years of age and got a driver’s license, the insurance on the two cars in the household would have been more than double, except for the fact that he had moved to Canada for his university education and he was no longer a member of the household.
Moreover, in the US, there have been cases in which a grandmother who provided funds for a recidivist driver to purchase and insure a new car was required to pay damages for an accident incurred by the driver using the new car in an impaired condition because the court found that the grandmother had acted recklessly and endangered public safety in providing the financing, when she knew the history of recidivism.
Does Taiwan have such laws and are they being used?
Emilio Venezian
New Taipei City
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