Mon, Apr 27, 2026 page1

• Drug-impaired driving top traffic issue, ministry says

  • By Wu Liang-yi and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Drug-impaired driving in January alone caused almost half as many drug-related traffic deaths and injuries as the whole of last year, prompting authorities to label it the top traffic safety threat, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.

  In January, drug-impaired driving caused four deaths and 49 injuries, nearly half of last year’s total casualties and more than the full-year figure in the previous year, the ministry said.

  Many cases of drug-impaired driving might previously have gone undetected, it said, adding that beginning this year, it has designated drug-impaired driving as the top public traffic safety threat and would target it alongside drunk driving under dangerous-driving enforcement measures.

  

  Police give a saliva rapid drug test to a man in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of the Criminal Investigation Bureau via CNA

  Drunk driving had previously been Taiwan’s main traffic safety concern, the ministry said.

  One of the most notorious incidents occurred in 2012, when Yeh Kuan-heng (葉冠亨) drove through Kaohsiung at speeds exceeding 100kph while intoxicated, crashing into a garbage truck and killing several bystanders.

  The case sparked nationwide outrage and helped drive legal amendments that increased penalties for fatalities caused by drunk drivers.

  Deaths and injuries caused by drunk driving peaked in 2011 at 24,980.

  Since then, stricter penalties, aggressive enforcement by local governments and public awareness campaigns have reduced the figure to 8,894 last year, a decline of 64 percent, the ministry said.

  While anti-drunk-driving efforts have produced results, casualties linked to drug-impaired driving have risen.

  In September last year, a woman surnamed Chen (陳) in New Taipei City drove after using methamphetamine, ketamine and an e-cigarette containing etomidate, commonly referred to as a “zombie vape.” She allegedly refused a police stop and struck Liu Tsung-hsin (劉宗鑫), chief of the Chingshui Police Station in Tucheng District (土城), dragging him to his death.

  In November last year, the ministry and the National Police Agency introduced a new saliva rapid-test system for drug detection.

  Officers conducting alcohol checks or roadside stops can administer saliva tests if they suspect drug impairment, such as when drugs are found in a vehicle, the driver has a drug-related record or the vehicle is being driven erratically.

  If a test is positive, prosecutors can authorize compulsory urine or blood testing, with offenders referred for prosecution.

  Department of Railways, Highways and Road Safety Director-General Wu Tung-ling (吳東凌) said yesterday that after last year’s legal amendments formally authorized rapid-test kits, cases of drug-impaired driving are now more likely to be uncovered.

  Enforcement would be accompanied by public education efforts, Wu said.

  Instead of focusing only on drunk driving, future campaigns would target drunk and drug-impaired driving, while the ministry is considering regularly publishing casualty figures on its road safety Web site, Wu said.

  Roadside checks for drug-impaired driving would be conducted alongside alcohol checks, Taipei Criminal Investigation Division official Wu Yi-chia (吳宜家) said.

  The saliva rapid-test kits can detect eight categories of drugs, including benzodiazepines, cannabis, etomidate, opiates, ketamine, methamphetamine, mephedrone and amphetamine, he said.

  First-time offenders face up to three years in prison and fines of up to NT$300,000.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    International concerns raised after Lai’s flight blocked

  • 2

    Actor Darren Wang handed six months for obtaining others’ personal data

  • 3

    Pet cats outnumber pet dogs, survey shows

  • 4

    Starlink reluctant to operate in Taiwan

  • 5

    China teases new aircraft carrier, vows to build up islands