In order to strengthen the correct concept of drivers, the Ministry of Transport will promote the "Three Strategies for Driver's License Management" in stages this year. Among them, "strengthening training and correction of violations", starting from tomorrow (30th), for those who have received training in the past year but violated the rules again, the training hours of recidivism classes and drunk driving violation classes will be extended, and a new class will be added for those under 18 years old and unlicensed driving violations. A total of 28,000 people will apply to the new system after it goes on the road.
Last year, after a 78-year-old man surnamed Yu in Sanxia, New Taipei City, drove his car into a schoolchild, killing and injuring many people, the Ministry of Transportation launched the "Three Strategies for Driver's License Management". The three major aspects are to reform the driver's license management system, including "strengthening license identification," "strengthening training and correction of violations," and "elderly license renewal." This year, the reform measures will be promoted in stages.
Wu Jijuan, leader of the Supervision Team of the Highway Bureau, said that three new systems will be launched tomorrow. For those who have received training in the past year but violated the law again, the training hours will be increased and extended. Among them, the "training class for re-offenders" will be extended from 4 hours to 6 hours, and the "drunk driving violation class for repeated offenses" will be extended from 12 hours to 15 hours.
In addition, a new "Unlicensed Driving Violation Recidivism Class for Under 18s" has been added, with a total duration of 6 hours. In addition to discussing traffic laws and related behaviors and responsibilities (2 hours), the course will also include parenting relationships, child protection and prevention plans (2 hours), road risk identification and licensing instructions (2 hours).
Wu Jijuan said that according to statistics, last year, 3,790 people under the age of 18 were notified of repeated offenses of driving without a license, 22,898 were notified of recidivism classes, and 1,932 were notified of recidivism classes for drunk driving. A total of 28,620 people were eligible for the new system after it was put on the road.
Director of the Highway Bureau, Lam Fook-shan, said that after various measures were put on the road, significant results have been seen, but they still need to be reviewed on a rolling basis. Regarding the licensing system, a standardized human-centered driving training course has been implemented for trainees in driving training classes since January. Compared with before the implementation of the new system, the violation rate in the first six months of the new system dropped from 7.13% to 2.19% in the motorcycle class, from 8.25% to 2.93% in the small car class, and from 8.25% to 2.93% in the large car class. The number of large-scale trains fell from 18.54% to 5.53%; after the implementation of the new system of written motorcycle examinations with multiple-choice questions, the violation rate dropped from 5.56% to 4.12%; after the "Stop for Pedestrians" test in large and small parking lots was added in March, the number of violations also dropped significantly.
In terms of the retraining system, Lin Fushan pointed out that the new system of compulsory correction and prevention classes for recidivist offenders was implemented at the end of March. By the end of August, there were 1,371 fewer recidivists (a decrease of 45%) compared with the same period last year. Among them, the number of red light violations was the most significant, which dropped by 1,372. It is estimated that the number of recidivists will drop to about 4,012 for the whole year, which is far lower than the 10,852 cases in 2024.
In terms of license renewal for the elderly, Wu Jijuan said that after the implementation on May 31, 171,000 people had completed the license renewal as of the end of August, and the overall processing rate reached 64%. Among them, 98.21% of the elders who completed the license renewal had no subsequent violation records; in addition, as of the end of July, 14,000 elders had voluntarily surrendered their driver's licenses and enjoyed a 50% discount on public transportation.
