The National Police Agency (NPA) has urged the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to amend regulations in response to a surge in incidents involving cyclists riding under the influence of alcohol.
Statistics from the NPA showed that 56,303 drunk driving cases were recorded last year, up 1.25 percent compared with 2024. Twenty-eight percent involved car drivers, while 51 percent involved motorcyclists. Meanwhile, 21 percent involved slow vehicle riders, including those riding bicycles, electric-powered bicycles and light electric scooters.
About 15 percent of cases involved drunk driving offenders refusing to undergo breath alcohol tests, the NPA said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
A total of 30,846 people were handed over to prosecutors for investigation, with 11 percent being women and 89 percent being men, it added.
Compared with 2024, the number of drunk driving cases involving car drivers and motorcyclists were down 7.6 percent and 8.86 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the number of drunk driving cases involving motorists and motorcyclists as well as those refusing to undergo breath alcohol tests were the lowest in the past three years.
However, cases involving slow vehicle riders were up 64.85 percent last year, and those refusing to undergo breath alcohol tests were up 39.9 percent last year, the NPA said, adding that the number of cases in both categories were the highest in the past three years.
Though there has been a downward trend in the past five years of drunk driving accidents and casualties, drivers who are prone to driving while intoxicated and hope to evade detection now choose slow vehicles as their mode of transportation, it said.
Since August 2024, law enforcement personnel have been deployed to patrol drunk driving hotspots during peak hours, including areas near pubs, bars, karaoke and main throughways, the agency said, adding that it has intensified efforts to crack down on slow vehicle riders under the influence of alcohol.
The Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) was amended in March 2019 to fine motorists and motorcyclists who refused to undergo breath alcohol tests NT$180,000, up from NT$90,000, the NPA said.
From April 2022, the fine for slow vehicle riders has also been increased to NT$4,800, along with an on-the-spot riding ban, it said.
To deter drunk driving with slow vehicles more effectively, NPA said the transportation ministry should consider adjusting the fine tiers for slow-vehicle riders who refuse testing, narrowing the gap with penalties for car and motorcycle drivers, reducing the incentive to evade testing.
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