Taiwan: land of the slap on the wrist

[LT]

I am on assignment in America and sometimes I am back in Taiwan to see my family. Well my relatives and friends always watch the TV news like a lot of people in Taipei. Like TVBS. Which I just get tired of. But what is worse is now that I have been abroad so musch I am going crazy when I watch local news.

The worst is how the authorities don't seem to punish people for drunk drivings. Men, women and especially children are hit by cars and scooters and are hurt severely. A lot of hit and runs, much more so than when I am in the USA. Bus drivers also drive like crazy people too. The fines and punishments are so light.The rich get away with more. The man in the Benz probably just paid someone off. I don't know when Taiwan is going to get serious and it makes me angry because I drive and have to get used the the driving style all over again. A few stories make me almost cry. And they love to show the actual footage of crashes and injuries 10-15 even 20 times.

I don't know what can be done. Just frustrating. I am sure a lot of you that post here may feel the same. Just ranting. I love Taiwan, but before the end of this month I will be back in California and it will be out of my system.

[tomthorne]

A lot of hit and runs, much more so than when I am in the USA.

We're going to need a few stats to back that up.

[LT]

Well, maybe I just see it on TV more. But in L.A. they announce what kind of car they are looking for etc.

[tommy525]

I agree, this drunk driving causing deaths thing has to stop. Even if it takes executing a few perps !

[Meadows]

A lot of hit and runs, much more so than when I am in the USA.

We're going to need a few stats to back that up.

Which Taiwan are you living in?!?!

[sandman]

A lot of hit and runs, much more so than when I am in the USA.

We're going to need a few stats to back that up.

I can't be bothered looking for stats, but from a personal perspective, I see a few reported here a year. Looking at the Brit press, though, I seem to see them every other week.

[Impaler]

In the U.S., it took quite a lot of pressure by citizens to force the state legislatures and all the various police agencies to take drunk driving seriously. In the 1970s, driving drunk was mostly ignored, unless some innocent was killed, and even then the drunks only got short jail sentences.

If you want it to change in Taiwan, you will need to get grieving parents to harass your lawmakers into passing mandatory sentencing laws, removing any judicial discretion. Then you need to shame police into not taking bribes to let people go -- or set up incentives so that police get departmental funding or extra pay/vacation/whatever for catching drunks.

[headhonchoII]

Well the almost complete lack of enforcement on the highways would be a good place to start.

Taiwan is getting there, but slowly. Most people would not dare to drink drive now in Taipei, too many checkpoints. OutsideTaipei it's a different story.

[creztor]

It's still the wild wild west outside of Taipei

[Nuit]

Drunk-driving is reasonably enforced at stage 1 in Hualian, using random late-night checkpoints. This normally gets you a fine (graded, according to just how drunk you are), plus a driving ban.

But then stage 2, the ban itself, is totally unenforced.
So the rule becomes, if you take a 1 year hit, just continue to drive as if nothing had happened .