Car Accident Arouse Debate about Making Drink Driving a Crime

Frequent car accidents caused by drunk drivers have recently caused widespread public concern. They also have prompted a heated debate over whether drunk driving should be considered a crime. Wang Ling has more:Reporter:

Data released by the traffic authority show that there were more than 220,000 cases of drunk driving nationwide in the first half of the year, up nearly 9 percent year-on-year.

As drunk driving has become increasingly serious in cities, many people have called for more severe punishment for violators.

"I think the punishment should be increased because many accidents are caused by drunk driving."
"If the penalty is light, people hardly will pay attention to the issue. Only under the threat of a severe penalty will they behave themselves."

In China, drunk driving is currently considered a traffic violation, and drivers can only be detained for up to 15 days if they do not cause an accident. But many say the light penalty is the primary reason why drunk driving has been on the rise.

A panel of legal experts recently suggested to judges on the country's top court that drunk driving should be treated as a crime regardless of whether or not the driver causes a crash.

Ruan Qilin, a law professor at Beijing-based China University of Political Science and Law, says drunk drivers should face criminal charges.

"Under the current law, only drunk driving that causes deaths and losses of more than 300,000 yuan that the driver cannot compensate can be treated as a crime. Otherwise, no matter how much alcohol the driver has consumed, drunk driving only can be considered a violation of traffic rules. So it's a loophole in the legal system."

But some legal experts say that it would be overly harsh to treat drunk driving as a crime.

Qu Xinjiu, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law.

"Considering China's current situation, I think right now it's too early to treat drunk driving as a crime. I think drivers can be bound by morals. As the public is in a great rage at the moment, we should be more cautious and keep a cool head when new legislation is proposed. The public may vent its anger if drunk driving is considered a violation of criminal law. But in the long run, it would be a hard task to implement the law."

Yang Yu, a news commentator on China Central Television, suggests that an anti-drunk driving campaign should be listed as a national task for China's 12th Five-year Plan starting from 2011.

"As drunk driving is endangering public safety, and the public is calling for violators to be punished, I suggest the

government include a crackdown on drunk driving in China's 12th Five-year Plan. I believe that not only big efforts such as building airports and highways and hosting Olympic Games should be considered national tasks, but also things that are closely related to public interest like the fight against drunk driving."

The Ministry of Public Security says it will start discussions with other government departments to determine whether it is necessary to increase the penalties for drunk driving.

Wang Ling, CRI News.