Drink drive limit in Taiwan

See I’m going to head out soon to a buddies on my scooter to just hangout and have a beer together. What I want to know is what is the drink drive limit in Taiwan (like how many beer can I have before being over the limit)? Will it be ok to have a beer and head home on the scooter? I know I can do that back home but this is Taiwan, different country different rules apply.

I suppose I should really consider taking a taxi.

Taxis are so cheap you should take one. Because one beer with a mate can easily turn into three or five or a case.

Yeah I know, I not stupid but still just for future reference, what is the drink drive limit?

You can’t measure it in number of beers - it depends on all sorts of factors.

However, for future reference, I believe it’s 0.05% blood alcohol, which is similar to most of Europe. That is, two pints is pretty much guaranteed to put you over the limit. Bear in mind also that 330ml of beer will seriously impair your driving ability, so even if they “allow” you to do that back home, it’s really not a great idea.

Don’t take the risk … please. Not on Taiwan’s roads, especially, and not on a scooter. Take a taxi and enjoy yourself properly :slight_smile:

specially scooter riding takes all your senses on MAX ALERT . Many a peeps got killed riding home after a beer or two. Take a cab. Its cheap enough on the wan.

Take it as being zero, the only to safely avoid trouble.

Two beers can easily put you over the limit, even if you don’t feel it.

Plus, police alcohol checks are common in Taiwan. They choose drivers randomly, not based on whether they see you swerve or drive strangely.

Otherwise, wait an hour for each beer you have. Three beers? Wait three hours afterwards before driving home.

Taxi is the best solution. There isn’t much difference between the guy who is convicted of manslaughter and the person who drinks a few beers. Don’t take the risk. If you don’t care about your life, atleast care about others.

Harsh, but really, it’s very hard to actually believe you are too drunk to drive, when you a driving and intoxicated.

well there are a few things to consider, your body size for ones…
but applying that to Taiwan… the problem wont be a fine because you are drinking and driving, if you are a foreigner you dont need to worry about that unless you are so drunk that you are falling on every corner… if that is not the case and police indeed catches you act normal and they wont tell you anything… now the real problem is if there is an accident… they will check if you have alcohol or not in your blood… and that becomes your fault…

anyways that is the technical crap… but my advice is… if you want to drink take a taxi, if you will have 1 beer with dinner that is not called drinking…
be careful

Just wondering
say I drink 10 beers over 4 hours(very easy to do)
then I drink 2 liters of water in say 5 minutes(not much food in my stomach)
will I be ok as far as alcohol limit goes?
how about 4 liters of water in 10 minutes?

[quote]Just wondering
say I drink 10 beers over 4 hours(very easy to do)
then I drink 2 liters of water in say 5 minutes(not much food in my stomach)
will I be ok as far as alcohol limit goes?
how about 4 liters of water in 10 minutes?[/quote]

No. That kind of behaviour makes you a candidate for a Darwin Award.

Or possibly for the “troll of the month” award?

It’s pretty much impossible to calculate, with any precision, how much alcohol is left in your blood during a drink-and-pause session. Drinking water has very little to do with how fast your liver and kidneys work - the reason people do it is to keep hydrated (alcohol is a diuretic) and avoid a major hangover.

As per Wiki:
Breathing pattern can also significantly affect breath test results. One study found that the BAC readings of subjects decreased 11–14% after running up one flight of stairs and 22–25% after doing so twice. Another study found a 15% decrease in BAC readings after vigorous exercise or hyperventilation. Hyperventilation for 20 seconds has been shown to lower the reading by approximately 32%.
Food for thought

[quote]
well there are a few things to consider, your body size for ones…
but applying that to Taiwan… the problem wont be a fine because you are drinking and driving, if you are a foreigner you dont need to worry about that unless you are so drunk that you are falling on every corner… if that is not the case and police indeed catches you act normal and they wont tell you anything… now the real problem is if there is an accident… they will check if you have alcohol or not in your blood… and that becomes your fault…

anyways that is the technical crap… but my advice is… if you want to drink take a taxi, if you will have 1 beer with dinner that is not called drinking…
be careful[/quote]

Although I do believe foreigners are handled with some leniency, this is simply untrue. If you happen to go through one of the random testing points drunk, you may or may not end up a cell. Anyway, it is 0.05% like mentioned by the OP. I’m sure many people can drive fine after 2 pints, but it’s the other guy we have to worry/think about. You get in a crash caused by someone else, and happen to have been drinking… Just isn’t worth it. I enjoy myself much more knowing that I’m taking a taxi. cheers

This is yet another problem I have with Taiwan’s police enforcement. They have a law and it’s very strict. But they simply do not pull anyone over no matter how badly they are driving. But that doesn’t mean that anyone should be drinking and driving. Taiwan’s roads are already too dangerous to be impaired at all on them.

I think you’re making the assumption that Taiwanese police can tell the difference between good driving and bad driving …?

:smiley:

I know exactly what it means, but until this thread, I’d never heard the term “drink drive limit”. It strikes me as funny.

Before this I would have called it a “BAC limit”.

[quote=“finley”]You can’t measure it in number of beers - it depends on all sorts of factors.

However, for future reference, I believe it’s 0.05% blood alcohol, which is similar to most of Europe. That is, two pints is pretty much guaranteed to put you over the limit. Bear in mind also that 330ml of beer will seriously impair your driving ability, so even if they “allow” you to do that back home, it’s really not a great idea.

Don’t take the risk … please. Not on Taiwan’s roads, especially, and not on a scooter. Take a taxi and enjoy yourself properly :slight_smile:[/quote]
.05? That is low! Does anybody know the range of fines or punishments here for drunk driving?

Well… there’s the rub. AFAIK the punishments are usually trivial - a few NT$000 in fines. Even if you kill someone under the influence you’re unlikely to spend more than a couple of years in jail.

0.05 is not low at all - a big slice of the world uses a figure in that range. If you’ve exceeded that limit your motor skills and judgement will be measurably impaired.

[quote=“finley”]Well… there’s the rub. AFAIK the punishments are usually trivial - a few NT$000 in fines. Even if you kill someone under the influence you’re unlikely to spend more than a couple of years in jail.

0.05 is not low at all - a big slice of the world uses a figure in that range. If you’ve exceeded that limit your motor skills and judgement will be measurably impaired.[/quote]

  1. It’s not a few thousand. I’ve had friends who have paid in the 20000-60000nt range. That’s not pocket change.

  2. I’d consider .05 to be very low as well. I think it’s .08 in Canada, not sure about America.

OK, $1000US on average. It’s peanuts, considering the seriousness of the offence. To the average spoilt rich kid in Daddy’s Lexus, it is pocket change.

Canada has a population density about (just off the top of my head here) maybe one-millionth of Taiwan. You’re more likely to see a moose on the road than another car. They can get away with such carelessness (although I believe the limit is zero for new drivers?). At 0.10%, you’re staggering and slurring. Would you be happy seeing someone walking around in that condition with a loaded handgun or a chainsaw?

The US is mostly 0.08%, but the US has a very poor traffic-accident record considering its supposed state of development. Very few other countries permit such a high level. In most of the world, it’s 0.05 or below.