Lifetime license ban planned for fatal drug-impaired driving: premier

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Drivers who cause death or serious injury while driving under the influence of drugs would face lifetime license revocation under planned amendments aimed at toughening penalties for drug-impaired driving, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Thursday.

Repeat offenders would also face permanent license revocation, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Cho as saying after a Cabinet meeting.

Lee said Cho had instructed the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to draft amendments imposing harsher criminal penalties for drug-impaired driving as soon as possible.

The proposed changes come after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) unveiled a package of stricter administrative penalties on Wednesday, including penalties for passengers riding with drug-impaired drivers and expanded license revocations.

Under the MOTC proposal, the fine for refusing a drug test would increase from NT$180,000 (US$6,000) to NT$270,000, while repeat offenders would face escalating fines of NT$180,000 for each subsequent violation.

The ministry also proposed raising the fine for driving without a license after it has been revoked for drug-impaired driving to NT$36,000.

Cho said the Cabinet would also discuss establishing a legal basis for rapid saliva testing of suspected drug-impaired drivers. The tests could also be used alongside existing urine tests in schools to strengthen anti-drug efforts, he said.

The premier added that authorities would step up border inspections targeting vapes and that he had instructed the MOJ to convene a narcotics review committee to consider reclassifying etomidate from a Category 2 to a Category 1 narcotic.

If reclassified, those convicted of manufacturing, transporting or distributing etomidate could face the death penalty, Cho said.

He also said people found in possession of vapes could face fines of up to NT$100,000.

Deputy Justice Minister Huang Mou-hsin (黃謀信) said the narcotics review committee is scheduled to meet on June 17.

Deputy Health Minister Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said customs authorities have recorded 29 etomidate-related seizures since the drug was classified as a narcotic in August 2024, with nearly 200,000 vapes confiscated.

The proposed amendments on drug-impaired driving penalties are expected to be submitted to the Legislature for review by the end of June.