The government has again ramped up the penalties for drunk driving, showing determination to curb the problem — but it also raises the question of whether these increased penalties are working, as last year’s drunk driving cases dropped only slightly from 2017. However, it takes time to change a culture and habits after decades of overly lenient policies and court decisions — in the meantime, stiffer punishments should be enforced if the previous ones were not enough to stop the behavior.
The amendments passed yesterday to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) should be applauded — especially one that would impose fines on adult passengers of a drunk driver. This would at least get passengers to think twice and increase the chance of someone convincing the driver not to drive. It is a choice to get into a drunk driver’s car and, as drunk driving is a crime, everyone in the vehicle should be punished.
However, the biggest item is probably the ignition interlock devices that repeat offenders could be forced to install in their vehicles. Yes, they can be expensive, but do not forget that fines greater than the price of the cheapest interlock device have failed to deter offenders. While it is possible to get a sober person to unlock the vehicle, there are ways to get around anything, so that should not be used as an argument against such devices. They are being used in countries such as the US and New Zealand, and have been proven to work.
Slightly increased penalties for drunken bicycle riders are also a good addition — even though the fines are not very high, many people often forget or are unaware that drunk bike riding is also illegal.
Ultimately, the problem can only be fixed through increased education and proper counseling. This area needs improvement as well — 12 hours of drunk driving prevention courses over two days for repeat offenders will not really make a difference in their lives.
The government earlier this month again tried scare tactics by having offenders take classes in a funeral home — which is a creative idea, but not everyone is scared of such things, nor would they be likely to even think of that experience when they are already drunk. The possibility of an offender in a fatal accident being charged with voluntary manslaughter, which has been brought up by some lawmakers, is much scarier than spending time in a funeral home.
The percentage of repeat offenders jumped from 27.2 percent in 2017 to 31.3 percent last year, showing that a big part of the problem is people who are not deterred by fines or easily re-educated. For example, in May 2017, a repeat drunk driver got so depressed after receiving the highest fine of NT$120,000 for his fourth offense that he got drunk, went driving and was arrested for a fifth offense. Alcoholism is a disease and cannot be cured by short-term fixes or scare tactics, just like clinical depression cannot be scared out of someone.
The content of these classes and the number of hours required, as well as increased counseling requirements for repeat offenders, should be the next step, and it looks like the government is working on it.
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