Cities around Taiwan are seeking to deter drunk-driving and drug-driving by fully releasing the names and photos of repeat offenders.
Police data showed that the number of drug-driving cases referred for prosecution rose from 43 cases in 2021 and 46 in 2022 to 315 in 2023, before jumping to 2,619 in 2024 and 8,659 last year. This year, 4,725 drug-driving cases were recorded nationwide between January and April alone, close to three times the number reported during the same period a year earlier.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications showed last week that the number of traffic fatalities caused by drunk driving in January and February increased by 10 compared with the same period last year, representing a surge of 71.4 percent.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Police Department’s traffic division
The Kaohsiung Police Department’s traffic division yesterday posted the names and photographs of 13 repeat drug-driving offenders on social media after the city recorded 739 cases from January and last month, an increase of 299 cases compared with the same period last year.
“Drug-impaired driving poses an irreversible threat to the lives and property of innocent road users. We hope that by making relevant information public, it will help exert social deterrence and strengthen preventive effects,” the post said.
The traffic division added that it has planned 323 targeted operations against drug-impaired driving this year, with continued roadside inspections, patrols and intensified stop-and-check measures incorporated into their procedures.
In Taipei, repeat drug-impaired or drunk driving cases were announced. One suspect has been caught refusing sobriety tests on four occasions. Two other repeat offenders — both with three or more offenses involving drunk or drug-related impaired driving or refusal to take tests in April and having household registration in Taipei — have had their photographs printed on color posters, which would be displayed at neighborhood offices and police precincts.
In Miaoli County, the police disclosed three repeat drug-impaired driving offenders, adding that such offenses not only carry criminal liability but administrative penalties as well, including fines and suspension or revocation of driving licenses.
The Pingtung County Police Department likewise announced a “zero-tolerance policy” toward repeat offenders of drug- and alcohol-impaired driving and released the names of ten repeat offenders.
Following the revised “Procedures for Handling Suspected Drug-Impaired Driving (取締疑似施用毒品後駕車作業程序)” implemented last month, drivers who exhibit signs such as erratic driving, disorientation, incoherent speech, or muscle tremors can be subjected to rapid saliva testing, and those who test positive can be arrested on the spot.
Penalties for drug-impaired driving include fines of up to NT$120,000 for cars and NT$90,000 for motorcycles, immediate vehicle impoundment, and license suspension. For repeat offenses within 10 years, a second conviction carries a maximum fine of NT$120,000 and a three-year license suspension, with progressively harsher penalties for subsequent violations.
In addition, drug-impaired driving offenders are now included under preventive detention provisions, allowing authorities to detain repeat offenders to prevent further incidents.
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