DUI problem in Taiwan
DUI will affect the ability to safe driving. Alcohol makes people excited and causes the driver not to be able to make a judgment on speed, distance, and road. It will increase the risk of accidents, causing death and injury. In 2017–2018, 187 people died, and 99 were injured in the A1 situation. It does not include any dead after 24 hours. The number is still high even though the Taiwan government amending the law for this significant issue. There are three solutions to drop down the number. First, punished heavily the person who drives after drinking. Second, make the warnings on alcohol clear. Third, other people need to make sure no one will drive after drinking.
In most cases, the main problem with DUI is that the person does not care about the law and the consequence of drunk driving. They know it is inappropriate to drink and drive, but they want to do it conveniently. Therefore, they drive home in an unsound mind. Typically, people have a guilty conscience when they do the thing that they know is wrong, so they speed up and try to return home faster. This causes the accident to happen quicker too. The faster the car is, the reaction time would be shorter that a regular driver should have. In a normal situation, people are hard to endure when the car speed goes to 20 km/h. It is going to be difficult to imagine what will happen when the car's speed is 100 km/h. The mortality rate is 100%.
First, Taipei, March 26 (CNA) The Legislature on having passed a law amendment that creates different penalties for motorcyclists and car drivers who got caught driving under the influence and increases the fines for DUI. According to the Road Traffic Management, scooter and motorcycle drivers who got caught will be fined NT$15,000- NT$90,000 (US$495-US$2,970) for the first time, while second-time could face up to getting fined NT$30,000 to NT$120,000.For third-time offenses, motorcyclists risk a fine of NT$180,000 and motorists NT$210,000, according to the amendment. Under the existing law, motorcyclists and car drivers found guilty of drunk driving are fined NT$15,000-NT$90,000. The amended law also stipulates that drivers who refuse to take a breathalyzer or blood test risk a fine of NT$180,000 and suspension of their license. The driver who does not want to take a breathalyzer or blood test, or is connected to a serious car accident, the driver’s vehicle can be confiscated by the government, and the license will also be revoked. The amendment also imposes a possible fine of NT$3,000 on anyone who is a passenger in a car that is driven by the people who drink and drive.
Second, the public information and warnings, such as enlarging the content and size of warnings on alcohol products and making convicted drunk drivers attend mandatory classes and perform social services. The latter emphasizes measures to prevent undesirable behavior, such as offering high rewards for people who immediately and truthfully report drunk drivers to the police. Moreover, warnings on alcohol products are less conspicuous than those on tobacco products. The existing regulations governing the labeling of alcohol products state that warning labels on alcohol products need to be printed in font size and at least need to be 2.65mm, whereas the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act says that warning texts and images must occupy no less than 35 % of the front and back sides of tobacco product containers. This is a point that Taiwan could consider improving the prevention of drunk driving from the angle of situational deterrence.
Third, making the relevant legal amendments would be a long and complicated way, and it would not fit the requirement for criminal penalties to be timely and specific. When society gets used to substantial penalties for drunk driving, the deterrent effect of getting tough on offenders gradually weakens. It would be difficult for such a policy to be useful except by making penalties even heavier. In ancient times, when the ideas about human rights were not as progressive as they are now. The only kind of why for dealing with serious crimes was to punish severely. However, the punishment was often disproportionate, so the sentence is not fit for the crime. In recent years, human rights have become more and more critical, placing limits on punitive deterrence. As a result, modern society has seen the rise of using situational deterrence as a better strategy for crime control. The right way to thoroughly stop drunk-driving accidents should be used both why, punishment, and situational deterrents at the same time. The purpose against drunk driving is that before drinking, people need to understand what will cause after driving under the influence. The point of situational deterrent measures is that after people have drunk alcohol or used drugs, they will not be able to drive.
DUI is one of the significant causes of traffic accidents in Taiwan. From early 2006 to the end of 2014, Taiwan increased the severity of fines and jail penalties for DUI offenders three times. At the same time, the monthly drunk-driving injuries decreased by nearly 40%, and the monthly alcohol-related traffic death dropped by more than 80%. People find that drunk-driving injuries and fatalities significantly dropped after the statutory changes. The reduction was immediately following all sanction changes that raised the maximum fines or jail terms of DUI offenders. Policies that increased the maximum jail terms of DUI offenders seem to have a better gradual effect on the reduction of alcohol-related traffic casualties. Although increased sanctions are found to be effective in reducing drunk-driving casualties, people need more future research to examine the policy-to-perception and the policy-to-behavior links.
References
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2018). Drunk Driving. Retrieved September 13, 2019, from https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving#driving-after-drinking-5036
National Police Agency. (2018). Casualties of Road Traffic Accidents. Retrieved September 13, 2019, from https://www.npa.gov.tw/NPAGip/wSite/ct?xItem=80108&ctNode=11500&mp=4
