Ministry of Transportation to Amend Laws to Curb Drug-Impaired Driving

With drug-impaired driving incidents on the rise, the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of the Interior are planning to increase penalties and introduce punishments for passengers in the same vehicle. Transportation Deputy Minister Chen Yen-po stated that the government will implement a management system for high-risk drivers, requiring them to undergo addiction treatment and wait for a certain period before they can renew their licenses. According to the National Police Agency, there were 8,355 drug-impaired driving cases from November 114 to April this year, a 4.6-fold increase compared to the 1,474 cases in the same period the previous year. The government is prioritizing criminal penalties and working on amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act.