Sat, Jan 29, 2011 page2

• Stiffer penalties for drunk driving coming: ministry

  GETTING TOUGH: Aside from fines, new rules would extend license suspension to four years if the drunk driver involved in an accident has a child passenger

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff Reporter
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  Starting Feb. 15, drunk drivers who get involved in accidents may face license suspension for four years if they were also carrying a passenger under the age of 14 at the time, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.

  Lin Fu-shan (林福山), section chief of the ministry’s Department of Railways and Highways, said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had promulgated on Jan. 19 the amendment to Article 35 of the Act Governing the Punishment of Violation of Road Traffic Regulations (道路交通管理處罰條例), which raises the penalty for driving while intoxicated (DWI).

  Lin said the amendment was proposed by legislators to protect the interests of children and teenagers.

  Apart from facing a fine of between NT$15,000 and NT$60,000 and confiscation of motor vehicles on the spot, the new regulation will extend the time for the suspension of the driver’s license from two to four years if the driver was carrying children under the age of 14 when the accident occurred, Lin said.

  The licenses of drunk drivers carrying children under the age 14 will still be suspended for two years even if they did not cause an accident, he added.

  Ministry statistics showed that a total of 4,938 DWI-related accidents were reported last year.

  Drunk driving also contributed to about 20 percent of A1-type accidents, or accidents that led to fatalities on the spot or within 24 hours after the accidents occurred.

  Meanwhile, starting on March 1, drivers taking license tests for motorcycles or cars can expect stricter road tests, the Directorate General of Highways said yesterday.

  Currently, a motorist must secure a passing grade of 70 out of 100 points to obtain a driver’s license.

  In the road tests, drivers are deducted two points if they do not turn on the signals when they make turns or switch lanes. Not wearing helmets or seatbelts, or talking on mobile phones while driving, will not affect the driver’s grade in the road tests.

  When the new road test is implemented, however, motorists will be lose eight points if they forget to turn on signals. Those who do not wear helmets or fasten their seatbelts will be deducted 16 points. Talking on cellphones while driving will cost the driver 32 points on the test.

  The ministry also said that those operating power machinery, such as bulldozers or excavators, will be required to secure temporary permits first before hitting the road, beginning on March 15.

  Lin said the temporary permit would list the routes where the machinery will be operated as well as the time of day it will be operated. Meanwhile, the permit will show the speed limit that drivers must observe and whether it will need a pilot car in front.

  Starting on Jan. 1 next year, those operating power machinery weighing 42 tonnes and above must also obtain a driver’s license for tractor-trailers, he said.
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