In an effort to crack down on drunk driving next year, a greater focus is to be put on drivers aged 18 to 24, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-jong (祁文中) said yesterday.
The government will show zero tolerance for drunk driving instead of just trying to reduce the casualties that result from it, Chi said during a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei.
The ministry also intends to implement measures to discourage motorists from driving under the influence of alcohol, Chi said.
For example, the number of hours of correctional classes that those convicted of drunk driving would be required to attend is to be raised from four hours to six, while repeat offenders would have to take 12 hours of classes, instead of six.
According to the National Police Agency, there were 96,676 drunk driving cases in the first 11 months of this year, compared with 100,079 during the same period last year.
A total of 94 lives were lost in traffic accidents related to drunk driving during the 11-month period, 38 fewer than in the same period of last year.
At the legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) proposed amending the Act Governing Punishments for Violations of Road Traffic Regulations (道路交通管理處罰條例) in the next legislative session to stipulate that drunk drivers must help clean the bodies of people killed as a result of them driving under the influence, with consent from the victims’ families.
DPP Legislator Cheng Pao-ching (鄭寶清) also proposed that civil servants caught drunk driving should be referred to the Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries for punishment.
Currently, with the exception of police officers, civil servant offenders are not always given that punishment, Cheng said.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said the ministry would schedule discussions among related authorities about the proposed measure.
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final