Taiwan has decided to take strong measures to eliminate drunk driving, continuing its practice of publicly disclosing the faces and names of repeat drunk drivers. In the capital city of Taipei, photos of habitual offenders who have been caught drinking and driving three times or more will be printed in waterproof flyers, magnified seven times.
According to local media, including United Daily News, on the 17th, the traffic authority in Taipei City will implement a plan to magnify the faces of residents who have committed drunk driving, drug driving, or refused breath tests three times or more.
At this time, the facial images will be enlarged seven times to make them more prominent. The flyers will be produced in waterproof material to ensure they do not get wet or easily damaged. Flyers displaying the faces of habitual offenders will be posted on police stations and community bulletin boards, along with details of their crimes. Authorities explained that this measure aims to create a sense of shame among the offenders to enhance the effect of repeat offense prevention and eliminate drunk driving.
The list of habitual offenders for drunk driving and drug offenses published by Taipei City in December of last year includes a total of 53 individuals. Among them, there were cases of individuals being caught for drunk driving seven times.
Earlier, the Taiwanese government implemented a revision of the Road Traffic Management Punishment Regulations in 2022 to strengthen the prevention and punishment of drunk driving incidents, which included the disclosure of drunk drivers' faces. Drivers who are caught drinking or drug driving two or more times within ten years will have their faces, names, and details of their violations made public, and their vehicle license plates will be confiscated for two years. This measure by Taipei City aims to maintain these government punitive regulations while enhancing the visibility of the flyer content for citizens to increase the crime deterrent effect.