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Monday, 12 October 2009
Drink-drive crackdown may include passengers
Another focal point of the draft is the introduction of a “fixed penalty on passengers on board the vehicle driven by a drink-driver” when they make no attempt to persuade or stop those drivers from driving.
Drink-drivers on the mainland could be subject to criminal charges and their passengers liable to unspecified fines if rules submitted for consultation by the Ministry of Public Security were ratified, mainland media said.
The proposal came as the ministry launched a nationwide clampdown on widespread drink-driving on August 15. From then until September 17, up to 10,700 drink-driving cases were reported, involving 320 traffic accidents.
The draft had been circulating among different levels of traffic management administrations across the country, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. It was the first time penalties have been proposed against passengers in a car with a drink-driver.
The report said the draft rules would break down drink-driving into three categories. Besides the category that already exists, one is added for drivers who cause a traffic accident under “particularly egregious” circumstances - they would face criminal charges. A less severe category is added for drivers who do not cause accidents.
The ministry document reportedly makes some amendments to a legal explanation issued by the Supreme People’s Court, specifying that drink-drivers who caused traffic accidents, instead of being treated as violating traffic laws, could be prosecuted in accordance with “other serious circumstances [involved in the] violation”. Convictions could lead to jail terms of between three and seven years.
Another focal point of the draft is the introduction of a “fixed penalty on passengers on board the vehicle driven by a drink-driver” when they make no attempt to persuade or stop those drivers from driving.
Some critics do not entirely agree with the ministry’s proposal.
Clauses making drink-driving a criminal violation are less comprehensive than those relating to other violations - such as speeding, driving without a licence or intentionally driving an automobile that fails to meet safety standards - which are not considered criminal violations, Chen Jieren , a mainland-based current affairs commentator, wrote in an article published by The Beijing News yesterday.
Chen also argued that passengers who had not committed any crimes themselves, nor caused harm to others, while riding in a vehicle driven by a drink-driver should not be subject to punishment even if they did not stop drink-drivers from driving. “Is it necessary for passengers to carry devices with them to gauge the alcohol level in the drivers’ bodies?” he said. “How about the drink-driver who goes on driving even after passengers try to stop him?”
Currently, a drink-driver on the mainland is liable to a 15-day detention, a penalty of 2,000 yuan (HK$2,270) and a suspension of licence for six months if their blood-alcohol level is found to have exceeded 0.08 per cent in a breath test.
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Drink-drive crackdown may include passengers
Choi Chi-yuk
12 October 2009
Drink-drivers on the mainland could be subject to criminal charges and their passengers liable to unspecified fines if rules submitted for consultation by the Ministry of Public Security were ratified, mainland media said.
The proposal came as the ministry launched a nationwide clampdown on widespread drink-driving on August 15. From then until September 17, up to 10,700 drink-driving cases were reported, involving 320 traffic accidents.
The draft had been circulating among different levels of traffic management administrations across the country, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. It was the first time penalties have been proposed against passengers in a car with a drink-driver.
The report said the draft rules would break down drink-driving into three categories. Besides the category that already exists, one is added for drivers who cause a traffic accident under “particularly egregious” circumstances - they would face criminal charges. A less severe category is added for drivers who do not cause accidents.
The ministry document reportedly makes some amendments to a legal explanation issued by the Supreme People’s Court, specifying that drink-drivers who caused traffic accidents, instead of being treated as violating traffic laws, could be prosecuted in accordance with “other serious circumstances [involved in the] violation”. Convictions could lead to jail terms of between three and seven years.
Another focal point of the draft is the introduction of a “fixed penalty on passengers on board the vehicle driven by a drink-driver” when they make no attempt to persuade or stop those drivers from driving.
Some critics do not entirely agree with the ministry’s proposal.
Clauses making drink-driving a criminal violation are less comprehensive than those relating to other violations - such as speeding, driving without a licence or intentionally driving an automobile that fails to meet safety standards - which are not considered criminal violations, Chen Jieren , a mainland-based current affairs commentator, wrote in an article published by The Beijing News yesterday.
Chen also argued that passengers who had not committed any crimes themselves, nor caused harm to others, while riding in a vehicle driven by a drink-driver should not be subject to punishment even if they did not stop drink-drivers from driving. “Is it necessary for passengers to carry devices with them to gauge the alcohol level in the drivers’ bodies?” he said. “How about the drink-driver who goes on driving even after passengers try to stop him?”
Currently, a drink-driver on the mainland is liable to a 15-day detention, a penalty of 2,000 yuan (HK$2,270) and a suspension of licence for six months if their blood-alcohol level is found to have exceeded 0.08 per cent in a breath test.
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