This paragraph from the UK Foreign Office is vague:
The alcohol limit for drivers in Taiwan is about a quarter of that in England. If you drive while over the limit, you may get a heavy fine and possible imprisonment. If you are a passenger, you may also be fined.
I assume it means if you’re a passenger of a car who driver is drunk, you’re also liable for a fine? Or is it illegal to be drunk at all in a private car?
https://dhsc.wda.gov.tw/News/Detail/c2d5fd65-896b-417d-bc5b-2f0115363cab?
Its very liekley
In accordance with the Employment Service Act, drunk driving is considered a serious violation of the laws of the Republic of China. As a result, foreign workers caught driving under the influence will have their employment permit revoked, be ordered to leave the country within a set period of time and be banned from returning to Taiwan to work.
*According to the provisions of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act passengers in a vehicle driven by a drunk driver can be fined NT$6,000-NT$15,000.
Also see this thread:
Passengers can be drunk, of course. Otherwise, taxis wouldn’t have much business on a weekend. But drivers cannot.
And yes, in an effort to reduce drunk driving, the penalties are ramping up. Even for passengers who are not drunk getting in a vehicle the driver of which is drunk.
As a passenger, your obligation is to make sure your driver is NOT drunk. The legal limits for alcohol are very low here, almost 1/3rd of the States or UK (not including Scotland).
https://tbaf.org.tw/en/information/2
Even one drink can put a driver over the limit. One drink. 0.03% alc. A lot depends on how you metabolize alcohol, too.
So yes, in short: you can be drunk in a car, but NOT AS A DRIVER. And drunk means >0.03% alc. Just don’t drink and drive. It’s that SIMPLE.
Oh, and beware certain dishes that contain alcohol, esp. Chicken in Rice Wine. Sometimes so much rice wine is added, residual alcohol can put you over the limit, too. Yes, cooking eliminates alcohol typically, but sometimes it’s added too late to fully cook off. So… beware banquets and toasts that include typical amounts of alcohol.
I understand the rationale, but don’t see how this can be fairly applied. The average person is not capable of determining the BAC of drivers and passengers, and suppose the passenger is so intoxicated they are unable to call for a taxi themselves. Would they still be automatically fined or would the officer have the ‘discretion to not issue a citation?
It’s fair because the law is pretty simple. The limit for a DUI is low, the common amount said is 1 can of Gold Medal. Putting pressure on the passenger is a good way to apply a much better (peer) pressure to the driver. I would guess a regular drinker thinks they can drive safely after only drinking 1 beer, but that’s not the point. If you are about to get into a car with that driver, and if you know you could get in trouble as well, you are more likely to try and prevent them from driving.
Being so drunk doesn’t excuse you from anything. It’s not like you can say “Hey, my DUI doesn’t count since I was so drunk I couldn’t even call a taxi for myself”
As a passenger isn’t that kind of the point though? Why penalize the passenger for being drunk, but not driving?
When I’m drunk, I don’t look to other people who have been drinking to drive me home so I can pass the blame off on them. You obviously aren’t going to get blamed if you are in a professional ride service and the driver was drunk. Getting in a taxi, Uber, whatever usually comes with the understanding that the driver is abiding by the law. However, if you go out drinking with your friend, coworker, whatever and then you get too drunk to get home and they take you home after drinking any amount then the blame is on you. It’s your responsibility to get home in safe/legal manner after drinking, if you put that responsibility on someone else then you should accept the consequences that might follow.
The level here is so low that it is not worth even having a single drink and then driving. The only think I can think of with the current limit is that its been set this low to stop all drinking and then driving but by not setting it to zero people can eat something with alcohol in it and still be legal if tested.
Most likely to be the reason: Some medication contain small amounts of alcohol. Some dishes (and desserts!) contain small amount of alcohol. Heck - even alcohol free beer and fruit juices might contain trace amounts of alcohol.
A 0.0 limit is often not practicable for this reason. Counting drinks to stay just under the limit might work in some cases - but it probably wasn’t the intention to allow “a few” drinks and still drive.
Taiwan had a severe problem with DUI before, and still have a big problem (better than before they increased the fines, but still too many innocent dies). So anything they can do to make more people avoid DUI (alcohol and drugs) is positive in my view
“Fairly applied”. I can see an issue where the responsible driver might say to him/herself “Oh, just one! won’t know!”. But TBH getting so drunk you’re unable to walk straight or make good judgments isn’t going to get you out of trouble if you get a fine. Only an appeal would help. Anyway, the officers involved in issuing the citation wouldn’t too enamored of the “Well, they told me they didn’t drink” argument since literally anyone could say that.
Whatever “fairly applied” means, the real situation is that most drunk drivers wouldn’t care what a passenger said to them, they’d still drive. The only reasonable way to appeal to the drunk driver would be to: a) refuse to get in the car; and b) call the police to tell them your driver is drunk and wants to drive (maybe flashing lights can dissuade them). If you yourself are drunk, your judgment probably would be impaired to even think of that.