The Kaohsiung City Transportation Bureau posted the names, pictures, and other details of five repeat drunk-driving offenders on its official website Thursday for the first time in accordance with Taiwan's new drunk-driving regulations.
Under the new regulations, repeat offenders, considered to be anyone who has been caught driving while drunk twice within a 10-year period, can have their names, photos, and violation details made public in addition to receiving the usual penalties for the offense.
The five repeat offenders were all caught driving under the influence of alcohol for the first time between 2020 and 2022 and a second time earlier this month, meeting the criteria for the punishment stipulated in the new rules.
The new penalties targeting repeat drunk-driving offenders came into being after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act in January, which came into effect on March 31, the bureau said in a statement on Thursday.
Under the new law, passengers aged 18 or over in a vehicle driven by a drunk driver could also face a fine of up to NT$15,000.
The city's transportation bureau indicated that in line with the implementation of the new drunk-driving law, a special section featuring the information of repeat drunk driving offenders had been set up on its official website.
In accordance with the new regulations, repeat offenders' full names, photos, and other personal information will be disclosed in the special announcement zone to curb drunk driving, the agency said.
In addition to the Kaohsiung City government, other local governments will also begin publicizing the personal information of drunk drivers, Lin Fu-shan (???), the head of the Department of Railways and Highways under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), said Thursday at a press conference.
Under the revised law, motorists who have had their driver's license revoked for drunk driving and need to retake a driver's exam are required to have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles for one year to continue driving if they pass the driving test.
As of April 15, 109 motorists who had their driver's license revoked have retaken a driver's exam but only 15 of them have had ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles, according to Lin.
For the first three months of this year, there were 17,406 drink-driving cases, a 5.66-percent decrease from the same period last year, according to data from the MOTC.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel