The National Audit Office on Thursday said it would review the regulations on traffic safety, as more deaths have occurred from driving under the influence of pharmaceutical drugs than alcohol.
The Taipei Pharmacists’ Association last year estimated that drug-impaired driving causes more than 300 traffic fatalities every year, higher than the 253 deaths from alcohol-impaired driving last year.
The office cited a survey conducted by Taipei City Hospital on drug use before driving in which one-third of respondents reported taking pharmaceutical drugs before driving, of which hypoglycemics were the most used, followed in order by hypnotics and muscle relaxants.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
These medicines usually have side effects such as sleepyness, dizziness, incoordination and concentration problems, the office said.
Similarly, the association surveyed 300 professional drivers of taxis, tourist buses and large vehicles, which showed that 19.5 percent of respondents had used hypoglycemics, hypnotics or muscle relaxants before driving.
Most Taiwanese are not aware of the serious consequences that could arise from driving under the influence of pharmaceutical drugs, the office said.
However, traffic safety regulations and punishments are limited to drivers who test positive for controlled substances such as narcotics, psychedelics and anesthetics, while those for drivers who are impaired by non-controlled substances and cannot safely control their vehicles have not yet been established, it said.
Therefore, it is hard to raise public awareness of the severity of drug-impaired driving, the office added.
The association and the hospital have jointly established a grading system to classify drugs for traffic safety following the example of France, while regulations and punishments would be reviewed and revised by the government based on similar precedents.
In Hong Kong, the Road Traffic Ordinance stipulates that people driving under the influence of prescription drugs are fined HK$25,000 (US$3,205) and imprisoned for three years.
For a first conviction, the driver would be disqualified for no less than six months, with an extra two years added for a subsequent conviction.
The office said that driving under the influence of pharmaceutical drugs is no less dangerous than drunk driving, as medicines could affect the coordination of the body and mind, seriously impairing a person’s ability to control a vehicle.
The office has asked the Executive Yuan to urge the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to strengthen regulations and countermeasures against drug-impaired driving, along with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, it said.
The agencies would also use the National Health Insurance Administration database to look into the use of medicines and identify high-risk drugs, as well as advocate for the safe use of drugs via clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other channels, the office said.
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