Wed, Jun 03, 2026 page8

• Penalties for driving on drugs are too lenient

  • By Chuang Yu-sen 莊宇森
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  The frequency of crashes caused by people driving under the influence of drugs has not only seriously threatened the lives and safety of the drivers themselves, but exposed other road users to danger.

  Taiwan often faced evidentiary challenges in cases of drug-impaired driving, allowing many offenders to escape severe punishment. To implement a “zero tolerance” policy for drug-impaired driving, amendments to Article 185-3 of the Criminal Code took effect on March 13. However, they seem to have failed to curb drug driving.

  The Criminal Code classifies drug-impaired driving as an abstract endangerment offense, or an offense based on the presumption of danger. Under Article 185-3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3, a driver poses an abstract danger if “drugs, narcotics or other similar substances, or their metabolites [are] present in [the driver’s] urine or blood specified by the Executive Yuan at concentrations equal to or exceeding the limits,” constituting unsafe driving.

  The approach is similar to the blood alcohol concentration threshold. Once a driver exceeds the threshold — namely, the testing standards for commonly abused drugs and their metabolites announced by the Executive Yuan — their behavior constitutes an abstract danger, leading to criminal prosecution.

  Article 185-3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 4 of the Criminal Code stipulates that “there are circumstances other than those stipulated in the preceding subparagraph which might prove that the person has consumed drugs, narcotics or other similar substances which prevent the person from driving safely.”

  That provision is the basis for the determination of a concrete endangerment offense. The phrase “prevent the person from driving safely” refers to a situation in which a danger to traffic safety has already emerged.

  As for determining whether there are other circumstances proving the person has consumed an illegal substance, courts and law enforcement authorities might rely on evidence that demonstrates a danger to safe driving, such as abnormal driving behavior, failure of field sobriety or coordination tests, or other signs and symptoms observed at the scene.

  If the detected drug concentration does not meet the statutory threshold and police bodycam footage shows that the driver responded appropriately, walked steadily and exhibited no signs of incapacity or the inability to drive safely, the courts are likely to acquit the defendant of the drug-impaired driving charge, given the absence of evidence of any concrete danger.

  However, even if a court finds the defendant not guilty of drug-impaired driving, the defendant’s use of illegal substances, regardless of the level of concentration, still constitutes a breach of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), and they would remain subject to observation, rehabilitation or other penalties under that statute.

  Drug driving and drunk driving are legally regarded as posing a high risk to public safety, and a zero tolerance policy should be adopted. The penalties for both offenses are completely aligned under the Criminal Code. A key issue is that, where an offense under any subparagraph of Article 185-3 results in death, the penalty is only imprisonment of “not less than three years but less than 10 years,” with repeat offenders subject to a maximum of life in prison. Where it results in serious injury, the penalty is only imprisonment for “not less than one year, but less than seven years,” with repeat offenders subject to imprisonment for three to 10 years. Those penalties seem too lenient.

  The law should be amended to increase the severity of the punishments to deter offenses.

  Chuang Yu-Sen is legal counsel for the Taiwan Energy Service Association.

  Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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