The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday pledged to clarify regulations to mandate a two-year license plate suspension for drunk driving, regardless of whether the vehicle is owned by the driver.
The Supreme Administrative Court in February ruled that a vehicle’s license plate would be suspended in a driving under the influence (DUI) case only when the driver and the owner of the vehicle are the same person, but the ministry is seeking to make that penalty applicable in all instances.
The latest version of Article 35 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), which went into effect in March 2022, states that the penalty for an owner “knowing” a person is drunk and allowing them to drive their vehicle is a fine and a two-year license plate suspension.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
The court had previously ruled in favor of a vehicle owner who sued after their plate was suspended following a DUI charge against their son for driving their vehicle.
The court ruled that although Article 35, Paragraph 7, does specify that the vehicle owner is subject to penalties, including a license plate suspension, Article 35, Paragraph 9 does not do so explicitly.
To abide by legal principles, authorities can only suspend a vehicle’s license plate when the owner and driver are the same person, the court ruled.
Department of Public Transportation and Supervision Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) told a news conference in Taipei that the ministry would seek to amend the law to merge the paragraphs to remove ambiguity.
The ministry held discussions with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and local governments, and agreed to respect the court’s ruling, he said.
Under the current regulations, if a vehicle owner is aware that another person is drunk and still allows them to drive their vehicle, the owner can still be penalized, Lin said.
However, the transportation ministry would amend the act so that any vehicle driven drunk would have its license plate revoked, he said.
It would submit a motion for an amendment during an upcoming review session by the legislature’s Transportation Committee, he said.
If the motion passes and the legislature approves the amendments, the new penalty standards could go into effect within six months, he added.
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