On the morning of January 25, President Ma Ying-jeou attended a roundtable discussion with representatives from various groups concerned with road safety and the prevention of drunk driving. During the discussions, the president proclaimed the government's determination to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol. He also instructed related government agencies to finish by the end of February of this year with drafting of comprehensive standards and supplementary measures, and to adopt necessary amendments to regulations governing blood alcohol content and preventive detention. He expressed hope that these measures will heighten the social stigma attached to drunk driving, thereby saving lives.
In remarks, the president stated that in an effort to realize pledges he made during his election campaign, public seminars have been held since last year focusing on the judiciary, new immigrants, environmental protection, sports, health care, and geriatric wellbeing. He pointed out that concrete results have already been achieved in terms of judicial reform, improving treatment of new immigrants, and amendments to the Medical Care Act.
The president pointed out that driving under the influence of alcohol has become a major reason for traffic accidents in recent years. He cited that in 2006 a total of 727 people were killed due to drunk driving. Each year, some 3,000 people in Taiwan are killed in traffic accidents, which means that drunk driving is responsible for about one-quarter of all of these deaths, he said. The president particularly noted a drunk driving incident in April of last year in Kaohsiung City that directly or indirectly resulted in the deaths of three people and generated increased public attention to this matter.
The National Police Agency, President Ma remarked, instituted a major crackdown in 2012 to prevent drunk driving. Police officers manning a total of 2.26 million shifts carried out nearly 400,000 alcohol breath tests on the drivers of vehicles that were pulled over. This lowered the number of persons killed as the result of drunk driving to 376 last year, down by 63 people (or 14.3%) from the previous year, he said. In spite of these efforts, 25 individuals still died as the result of drunk driving in New Taipei City, 22 in Tainan City, 66 in Kaohsiung City, 47 in Taichung City, eight in Taipei City, and 23 in Taoyuan County. The president stated that while the total number killed due to drunk driving decreased year-on-year, there is still more work to do in cities and counties throughout Taiwan.
The president stated that strong enforcement of existing drunk driving laws is an effective way to prevent these accidents, but is not the only means available. Consequently, the government intends to lower the maximum blood alcohol content and amend some of the articles of the Act Governing Road Traffic to increase the maximum fines for drunk driving from NT$60,000 to NT$90,000. In addition, drivers who refuse to be tested or do not comply with instructions in the testing process will receive a fine of NT$90,000 and have their license revoked, he said. At the same time, the president remarked that the Ministry of Justice is presently revising Article 185-3 of the Criminal Code with the hope that raising the punishment on drunk drivers will persuade drivers not to take the wheel after drinking, he said.
President Ma opined that the effort to prevent drunk driving should be multi-pronged. For example, he noted, a key topic at the meeting that day was the question of how to rigorously enforce existing laws and carry out prevention work without having to first amend laws. In addition, the president pointed out, no single method is likely to put an end to drunk driving, so besides enforcing the law strictly, legal loopholes must be found and eliminated. He remarked that the fight against drunk driving must start at the source, adding that he hopes the idea of not getting behind the wheel after drinking will become an important belief in each person's life.
After the president completed his remarks, the participants at the meeting exchanged opinions on three main issues, namely "stopping drunk driving at the source ," "amending laws and regulations as necessary," and "implementing coordinated measures."
After listening to and compiling the opinions of the various representatives at the event, President Ma issued a number of instructions. First, the president emphasized that strengthened enforcement of "compulsory measures" will discourage those prone to drive drunk from thinking they can do so without consequence. The only way to prevent drunk drivers from causing tragedies, he added, is to deter them through the possibility of punishments that might include loss of personal freedom, the public release of their names, and a series of other onerous sanctions, such as increased insurance premiums and mandatory road safety education. Therefore, one of the key measures will be an amendment of regulations so that the results of a breathalyzer test can more easily be used as the basis for detention. Increasing the likelihood that drunk driving will result in detention, said the president, will frighten drinkers and make them reluctant to defy the law.
Regarding the topic of how to amend blood alcohol content standards and whether Criminal Code provisions on preventive detention should be amended, President Ma instructed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of the Interior to draft a set of coordinated measures. He also instructed the Executive Yuan to coordinate the effort and be sure to have concrete results to show by the end of February of this year, which will demonstrate the government's determination to tackle the problem of drunk driving.
President Ma reiterated that the government will emphasize "heavy punishments" and "quick action" in its efforts to ensure better traffic safety, and stated that the function of county- and city-level traffic safety taskforces will be enhanced. Besides reducing the number of deaths caused by drunk drivers, the president said, we must also effectively cut the number of non-fatal injuries arising from such behavior, thereby reducing the costs of drunk driving to society, saving lives, and preserving health.
Among those attending the event were Chairman Shin-Han Tsai (蔡行瀚) of the Taiwanese Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion Association, Chairman Hsin-Li Chang (張新立) of the Chinese Institute of Transportation, Vice President Lai Kun-hung (賴坤鴻) of the Motor Vehicle Accident Compensation Fund, Associate Prof. T. Hugh Woo (吳宗修) of the National Chiao Tung University Department of Transportation Technology and Management, Dean Li-Ching Chang (張麗卿) of the National University of Kaohsiung College of Law, Chairman Huang Lai-fa (黃來發) of the Taipei Hotel Union, Taichung City Councilor Huang Hsing-hwi (黃馨慧), Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-Yuan (李鴻源), Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-Ford (張盛和), Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Huang Min-kon (黃敏恭), Vice Chairperson Wu Tang-Chieh (吳當傑) of the Financial Supervisory Commission, Administrative Vice Minister of Justice Chen-Huan Wu (吳陳鐶), Administrative Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-Yu (陳建宇), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Cho Shih-Chao (卓士昭), and Director-General Wang Cho-Chiun (王卓鈞) of the Ministry of the Interior's National Police Agency.