Newsletter
THE AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 185-3 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE – THE SHORTEST WAY TO BECOME A CRIMINAL!
The legislature passed three readings of the amendment to Article 185-3 of the Criminal Code on December 18, 2007. The original clause "People who take drugs, narcotics, alcohol or other similar substances, resulting in the inability to safely operate motor vehicles, but nevertheless operate them, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than one year, detention or a fine of not more than NT$90,000." was revised to "People who take drugs, narcotics, alcohol or other similar substances, resulting in the inability to safely operate motor vehicles, but nevertheless operate them, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than one year, detention, in addition thereto, a fine of not more than NT$150,000 may be imposed."
Under the former stipulation, drunken drivers who were charged with the Offenses against Public Safety Act would only be penalized with one of the three penalties: imprisonment for a fixed-term, detention or a fine. To deter drunken driving, the new amendment to the criminal code stipulates that the fine can be a cumulative punishment along with imprisonment or detention. In addition, the amendment to the criminal code also raised the fine for drunken driving by a large amount from the current NT$90,000 to NT$150,000.
This new system took effect on January 4, 2008. There are two criteria for law enforcement to determine whether a driver has reached the level of "dangerous driving": 1. If a driver's breath alcohol level exceeds 0.55mg per liter, or 2. If a driver's blood alcohol level exceeds 0.11 percent. If the driver's breath test or blood test exceeds the standard level, he or she will be charged under the Offenses against Public Safety Act.
Given the amendment to Article 185-3 of the Criminal Code, regardless of whether one is a CEO of a public company or anyone else, with the President perhaps as the only exception, if one drives after having 400 c.c. of red wine (about 2 glasses) or 960 c.c. of beer (about 2 bottles), one becomes a criminal immediately! Thus, for one's own and other people's safety, please sit in the passenger seat after drinking!