The Magistrate’s Court sentenced Tindall to a 500 English pound fine (USD $775) and 75 pounds in court costs (USD $115).

Tindall, 30, plays center for Gloucester and was part of the championship English rugby squad at the 2003 World Cup. He apologized for his actions and said that he has learned to allow more time after drinking before driving. Tindall was conviction of drunk driving in 2000 and had his license suspended for 16 months.

Have you been arrested for DUI?

Most students believe they can drive while intoxicated, and that all they must do is concentrate to compensate. The game attempts to show the true dangers of drunk driving.

Project WULF, which stands for Would U Like Fries, places plainclothes police officers inside fast-food restaurants near the drive-thru window. If either the police officer or restaurant employee notices possible signs of inebriation, like the smell of alcohol, a spacey look or slurred speech, a second nearby officer is alerted. That officer stops the motorist for suspicion of drinking and driving.

The restaurants have cooperated with the police, citing the regular presence of drunk drivers. The police in turn avoid interrupting the restaurant operations, giving full control to the manager of the facility.

The drunk driving campaign was initiated late last year and it has reportedly led to ten driving under the influence arrests and numerous suspensions. The RCMP plans to use Project WULF in Surrey throughout 2008.

Friday, Nov 21, 2003, Page 8

The National Police Administration (NPA) dropped a bomb on Tuesday by announcing plans to impose fines of up to NT$12,000 on the adult passengers of drunk drivers. The NPA proposed a similar fine on anyone who served alcohol to a drunk driver. The announcement immediately drew outrage from the legislature and the general public, in particular from operators of pubs and restaurants. The agency scrapped its proposal.

Cracking down on drunk driving is laudable, given the alarming recent increase in the number of deaths caused by drunk drivers. According to the NPA, the deaths attributed to drunk driving increased from 356 in 2000 to 443 last year, making drunk driving one of the top 10 accidental causes of death in the nation.

The agency must have thought its plan was an ingenious way to win some brownie points from the public -- its own statistics reveal high levels of public support for tougher measures against drunk driving. For example, 89 percent of people support confiscating the vehicles of drunk drivers as soon as they are caught.

Nevertheless, the means chosen by the NPA were simply inappropriate, if not unlawful. Obviously, this was an attempt to copy the so-called "dram shop" or "social host" laws of some countries, and some states in the US, under which bar and restaurant owners may be liable to third parties injured in drunk-driving accidents when they have "knowingly" sold alcoholic beverages to drunk drivers.

Unfortunately, the agency's proposal differed from these laws in several critical ways. The "dram shop" laws typically impose civil liability only when injuries have actually occurred, while the agency was seeking to impose fines merely if someone was found driving under the influence of alcohol. The idea behind the dram shop laws is to compensate for actual injuries and losses sustained by victims, while the NPA's proposal was strictly a punitive sanction by the government. That seems harsh.

The NPA was seeking to impose such sanctions not only on providers of alcoholic beverages, but also on passengers in drunk drivers' vehicles, whose only sin is not acting to stop others from drinking and driving. This would place many people at grave risk of being penalized for the actions of others. The agency had thought that this might force bystanders to take car keys away from drunk drivers and do the driving themselves, but instead, many passengers would simply take a taxi home, leaving their drunk friends still in possession of the keys.

The "dram shop" laws also state that pub operators must have acted "knowingly," which is a high threshold to meet. They must have sold the alcoholic beverages "knowing" that the person in question was already drunk. For that to happen, the driver would have to exhibit physical manifestations of his or her drunkenness. It's not clear how bar staff can decide to refuse a customer a drink if they don't know the customer is drunk.

Another issue that should not be ignored is the way that the NPA announced the proposal and then hastily retracted it. This demonstrates serious problems with the organization's decision-making mechanism. The decision to make the announcement was obviously made without sufficient forethought. This kind of mistake should not be repeated. Otherwise the NPA will give the impression that it is as careless about drafting policy as many people are about getting behind the wheel when they have been drinking.

DHARUHERA, India (UPI) -- Two hours drive from New Delhi there is an unassuming building in which the smell of beer permeates the air and the clinking of glass bottles echoes throughout.

Machines fill bottle after bottle with freshly brewed Sandpiper beer, cap them and seal them with gold foil. The bottles are then loaded into cartons for shipment to 12 Indian states.

Inertia Industries, despite its lethargic name, has been one of the fastest growing beer companies in India. In the four years since Sandpiper hit the market, daily production has jumped from 72,000 bottles to more than 300,000.

This year, Inertia planned to boost production further -- to between 400, 000 to 500,000 bottles per day -- at the recently expanded plant. But then came the elections. Bansi Lal, the new chief minister of the state of Haryana, promised in his campaign that he would make it illegal to buy, sell, consume or produce alcohol in the farming state.

Lal won the election and carried out his promise within minutes of his inauguration. The Sandpiper brewery now must close. Two other breweries and seven distilleries are also shutting down.

Industry analysts say 20,000 jobs will be lost by the shutdown of the 10 Haryana plants. An additional 40,000 truckers, farmers and bottle producers will also be affected. "It's the will of the big politicians that the factories get locked, " said a despondent Kirpal Singh, a malt machine operator at the Sandpiper brewery. "I'll have to leave here in search of other work."

Officials estimate that prohibition will cost Haryana as much as $142.8 million in annual revenues, for which Lal's government has attempted to compensate by raising taxes and fees for state-provided services. Power tariffs have already gone up by 10 to 50 percent; bus fares have jumped 25 percent, and the petrol sales tax is 3 percent higher. New taxes have also been levied on businesses and self-employed people.

Supporters of prohibition say that the cost, no matter how high, is worth the price to save Indian families torn apart by the scourge of alcoholism. Despite a cultural ideal that frowns on drinking, alcoholism is a major problem at every level of Indian society. The consequences are particularly severe among the working classes, where men often spend large portions of their meager daily wages on booze while their families go without adequate food or shelter.

"These drunkards started to be a law unto themselves," said Arjun Das Malik, commissioner of Haryana's Rothak district. "They were a public nuisance. The families suffered. The neighborhood people suffered. The society was unable to control them." Rakesh Yadav lives with her family in a simple mud-house near the brewery. Her family owns trucks that used to haul Sandpiper beer to other states. But Yadav, who has a baby daughter, supports the ban on alcohol production nonetheless.

"A lot of women are fed up with the domestic violence and roughness that goes along with drinking," she said through a translator. Yadav's brother-in-law, Manoj Kumar, elaborated. Before prohibition, he said, "men would come home drunk. It was common for them to break their wives bones or bother the children."

Now, "women are happier because their husbands are coming home on time, eating and going to sleep at a decent hour. Things generally run smoother." Bansi Lal is not the first Indian politician to tap the discontent of rural women upset over their husband's drinking.

In 1993, cinema hero N.T. Rama Rao -- who built a career playing Hindu deities in religious movies -- was elected chief minister of the state of Andhara Pradesh after campaigning on a prohibition platform. Rama Rao died last year, but Andhara Pradesh is still reeling from the loss of $362 million in annual revenues since prohibition was imposed. Despite new taxes on vehicles and consumer goods, the state's budget deficit is currently $242 million.

In April, the southern state of Kerala adopted a partial prohibition, banning the traditional brew, arrack, which is made from the sap of palm trees and was sold at tiny stalls in villages around the state.

The arrack ban was calculated to win support for Kerala's former Chief Minister M.K. Anthony among women, Muslims and the Christian clergy before last spring's vote. But Anthony's Congress party lost to the Communists, who challenged him to ban hard liquor if he was serious about combating alcoholism. In the meantime, the arrack ban, which took affect on April 1, will cost the state an estimated $10 million each year.

Despite the drastic economic implications, many observers predict prohibition will spread as politicians embrace a cause that has clearly proven to be a winner. "Everybody wants an election issue," said Vijay Kapoor, technical director of the Sandpiper brewery.

Some experts insist that a total ban on booze is far from the best way to deal with alcoholism. They say prohibiting liquor consumption simply creates networks of smugglers and home brewers who encourage people to drink even more than when alcohol was legal.

In Haryana, a small state surrounded on four sides by "wet" states, smuggling will be especially easy. "It is not going to work," said sociologist M.N. Panini, of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. "It will have a boomerang effect. Instead of suppressing alcoholism, it will encourage more alcoholism. It will create anarchy within the system."

Panini also warned of increased police corruption, as officers accept bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye from alcohol smuggling or consumption. "This gives the police enormous powers," Panini said. "They have access to pry into anybody's home to find out whether they possess one or two bottles of rum."

Instead of total prohibition, critics say Haryana should adopt a pricing policy to encourage consumption of drinks like beer, which has a lower alcohol content than the hard liquor now favored by the working classes. Haryana also faces pressure from the state's powerful hotel and restaurant owners, who are clamoring for permission to serve drinks to their customers. Without such a legal loophole, hotel owners say they stand to lose millions of dollars of business each year, as pleasure-seeking tourists seek wetter pastures.

Meanwhile, Inertia owner Sunil Tandon, who has $ 10 million invested in the brewery, has filed a lawsuit saying his factory should be allowed to produce beer for sale in other states. Tandon's factory stands just 2 miles (4 kms) from Haryana's border with neighboring Rajasthan, where hard liquor and beer flow without any restrictions.

"If we are allowed to run the unit and sell beer to adjoining states, why should the government object," Tandon said. "It is totally arbitrary." Brewery worker Kirpal Singh has seen all this before. Singh, from an impoverished Himalayan mountain village, was employed at a brewery in Andhara Pradesh that was shut down when prohibition was imposed there. He is bitter about the potential loss of a second job and the $62 monthly salary with which he supports his wife and two children. "The women who are having problems should have control over their husbands," Singh said. "They shouldn't ask to shut down a whole factory that affects all the employees and all their families."

The capital will suspend its "alcoholimetro" program. Public safety officials in Mexico City last week announced that they would suspend the capital's drunk driving vigilance program for the nights of Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. They added, however, that the "alcoholimetro" program would be stepped up during all other days of the holiday season.

The suspension of drunk-driving vigilance for Christmas and New Year's celebrations is a tradition in the capital, where the practice is known as a "noche libre," or "free night."

And while the idea has its critics, city officials point to statistics to defend the practice. Last Christmas Eve, when drunk drivers were also given a "free night," there were three fatal car accidents, and on New Year's Eve there were two. The average day in the capital sees four fatal accidents, according to the Public Safety Secretariat.

However, city statistics also show that there were 50 reported car accidents in all last Christmas Eve, far more than the daily average of 26.

Source: The Miami Herald

ANGEL GONZLEZ, a Bogota drug pusher, says his life isn't any easier since the Colombian government decriminalized drug use.

"They can't get the users, so the cops come down on us all the harder, and the 'taxes' are worse than ever," says Mr. Gonzalez. He is bitter after spending the previous night in jail - he didn't have money for the bribes the police call "taxes." It has been a year since Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled that drug users may carry a personal dose of marijuana, cocaine, methadone, or hashish. The sale of drugs and use by minors or in public places is still prohibited.

In the past year, use of these drugs has risen, while the age of the users has fallen, says Gonzalez. Emergency-room physicians and drug consellors rehabilitation councilors agree.

Many Colombians deny theirs is a society of drug takers and blame the United States and other consuming countries for Colombia's drug problems. The US Drug Enforcement Administration says Colombia produces 80 percent of the world's cocaine and a thirdits heroin.

But the proportion of addicts in Colombian cities is approaching that of the US. Since the personal dose was legalized a year ago, more youths are treading Gonzalez's path.

The idea behind the Court's legalizing a personal dose was to force the government to find more effective methods than law enforcement for fighting drug abuse, such as education programs in the schools, says Constitutional Court Justice Carlos Gaviria, who wrote the decision.

"Drugs should be regulated in the same way as alcohol, which is not sold to minors," says Judge Gaviria. And no studies have been done that show that drug consumption has risen since he wrote the opinion, he points out.

But Camilo Uribe, head of toxicology at Bogota's Health Secretariat, says one reliable statistic shows that medical emergencies and deaths caused by overdoses have risen dramatically in the past year. "Previously, a death from an overdose was fairly exotic. Now there are three or more per month," he says.

Decriminalization of the personal dose is one cause, Dr. Uribe adds. The other is the international war on drugs, which causes more of the product to be kept in Colombia and sold domestically at ever-lower prices.

Maria Isabel de Lince, director of a rehabilitation clinic in Prometeo, disagrees strongly with Gaviria's opinion that legalized drugs can be kept out of the hands of youth. Although she has not noticed a rise in applicants during the last year, her clients are younger.

"The more restrictions we have, the less likelihood that they will try them for the first time," she says. "I have two girls - 15 years old, who came in their high-school uniforms - who told their parents they needed money for a present for the teacher and to replace lost books, but they came to me when they ran out of excuses." The girls were using a Colombian brand of "crack" cocaine - bazuco.

Many Colombians, such as former Prosecutor General Gustavo de Greiff, support worldwide decriminalization, which would eliminate the violent distribution chain. Legalized drugs mean lower prices and an end to the wars among distributors.

As for Gonzalez, he has had access to drugs all his life. "I was born into a world of drugs, and I fell into a world of drug addiction."

He would like to stop dealing drugs to take drugs, but says that is unlikely as long as Colombia cannot provide rehabilitation for all of its citizens. "If there were a cheap rehabilitation program, I would be there," he says. "But for the poor, the only rehabilitation center is prison."

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Prosecutors have demanded 10 months' imprisonment for a 36-year-old employee of The Chunichi Shimbun in Nagoya for allegedly driving drunk without a driver's license in March.

The former reporter at the newspaper company was indicted by the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Law.

In November 2004, his driver's license was suspended after he was involved in a traffic accident that caused property damage, and in January last year, his license was revoked for two years.

The company suspended him for three months on March 15 and removed him from his post as a reporter during its regular personnel change in August.

According to the company, at about 11:30 p.m. on March 3, while working as a reporter for the company's lifestyle department, he drove drunk without a driver's license. Police detected 0.15 milligram or more of alcohol per liter of his breath.

After he left the office, he drove alone to a restaurant in Nagoya near his home and drank four 180-milliliter bottles of wine, according to the police.

(Sep. 3, 2006) Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp

Chunichi Shimbun reporter suspended after being caught drunk driving without a license NAGOYA -- A Chunichi Shimbun reporter has been suspended from duty for three months and transferred out of its editorial division for drunken driving without a license, company officials said Saturday.

The 36-year-old man is standing trial at the Nagoya District Court for violating the Road Traffic Law.

"We take the incident extremely seriously as it was an act unworthy of a newspaper company employee. We're determined to try to restore the public's confidence in us," managing editor Mikitoshi Kato said.

The employee was indicted after a massive amount of alcohol was detected in his breath during a traffic stop by police late on March 3. He was out driving in Nagoya after drinking at a restaurant, according to the newspaper publisher.

Prior to the incident, his driver's license was revoked after he was repeatedly caught speeding, parking his car in no-parking zones and committing other traffic offenses. (Mainichi)

Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp

August 27, 2006

Last night I was at a party and was talking with an American who lives in Koba, Japan. He told me what happened to a group of his friends who had visited the '19th' hole after playing a round of golf in Koba.

After 18 holes of golf four golfers went into the clubhouse and had ONE beer. As they were leaving the course they were immediately stopped by the police. The driving was subsequently arrested for drunk driving fined $1,800 (equivelant) the three others were also fined ($1,300) and the driver lost his license for one year. After one year license suspension the driver would get his license back but it would be a license that would have to be renewed every year for seven years, depending on his driving during that period of time.

More information on Drunk Driving in Japan.

Driving under the influence of alcohol, drunk driving, or drink-driving, is the act of operating a motor vehicle (and sometimes a bicycle or similar human-powered vehicle) after having consumed alcohol (ethanol) or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. In addition to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of other drugs, a third "DUI" offense consists of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and other drugs. The drugs causing or contributing to the impairment need not be illegal, but can consist of lawfully prescribed or over-the-counter medication. Anti-drunk-driving advertising campaigns have aimed to raise awareness of the legal situation and the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Drunk-driving is responsible for a very large number of deaths, injuries, damage and accidents every year.

The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving while intoxicated (DWI), driving while impaired (also DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI), driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs or drunk in charge [of a vehicle]. Such laws may also apply to boating, or piloting aircraft.

Historically, presumptive guilt was established by subjective tests of the driver's impairment, such as difficulty reciting the alphabet or walking a straight line. Starting with the introduction in Norway in 1936 of the world’s first per se law which made it an offense to drive with more than a specified amount of alcohol in the body, objective chemical tests have gradually replaced the earlier purely judgmental ones. The statute usually specifies that it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeding a value specified in the statute. BAC is most conveniently measured as a simple percent of alcohol in the blood by weight. It does not depend on any units of measurement. In Europe it is usually expressed as milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. However, 100 milliliters of blood weighs essentially the same as 100 milliliters of water, which weighs precisely 100 grams. Thus, for all practical purposes, this is the same as the simple dimensionless BAC measured as a percent. Since 2002 it has been illegal in all 50 US states to drive with a BAC that is 0.08% or higher.

Driving while consuming alcohol is generally illegal, though driving after drinking remains legal. In some jurisdictions it is also illegal for an open container of an alcoholic beverage to be in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle or in some specific area of that compartment.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_influence

Drunk driving is not tolerated by Japan, and certainly not by IUJ! Those involved in drinking and driving incidents run the risk of losing their scholarship, being suspended or expelled from IUJ - or both. And of course the legal implications are severe. Those who allow friend to drive drunk are held responsible.

Recently monetary penalties have been raised up higher due to alteration in traffic regulations being effective as from 2001. While you are durunken driving with the fact that alcohol content in your breathe test is minimum 0.15mg/L (used to be minimum 0.25mg/L), you will be fined to pay the monetary penalty in the range from minimum 100,000 yen up to maxmum 500,000 yen or imprisonment in the range from minimum 6 month to maxmum 5 years in jail.

DON`T DRINK AND DRIVE!

No Need to Drink and Drive This area of Japan has a great service known as "Daiko". Daiko is a special taxi service that brings you, your friends, and your car back to campus at the cost of just over a taxi fare. So don't drink and drive - don't put yourself in danger and jeopardize your status at IUJ - use the Daiko Service.

Source: http://www.iuj.ac.jp/web/iuj_section.cfm?item=090806

2003 JAPAN LAW: TRAFFIC LAW
Keywords: Alcohol, Driving, Driver, License,
Bicycles, Pedestrians, Parking, Ambulance, Mitsubishi Motors
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman

Traffic Law? Traffic Law? Who cares about Traffic Law you say! Cell phones do not kill. Even drunks do not kill. Two tons of steel traveling at high speed kill. With over 100,000 people killed on the roads of America since September 11, 2001, compared to the fewer than 3000 killed in that admittedly tragic event, it should be given consideration. Those 3000 had led to a world turned topsy-turvy while the 100,000 are ignored.

Yet look at Japan. A great power. Obviously a master of automobiles in its own right. How does Japan perform?

During 2003 deaths from traffic accidents were running at an annual rate of 7,000 with those from drunken driving running at an annual rate of 750. With a population roughly half that of the USA. Thus from September 11, 2001 the number of deaths in Japan would be significantly less than 20,000 compared to 100,000 in the USA. How does Japan do this? Draconian traffic laws is one reason. Easy access to alternative means of transportation is another critical factor. When you are drunk in Japan you can easily take a train or subway home and taxis, while expensive by international standards, are not unreasonable compared to other prices in Japan.

In 2001, the maximum penalty for death from dangerous driving was raised to 15 years. In 2002 the amended Road Traffic Law increased the penalty for RECKLESS DRIVING to a maximum of 2 years in prison or 500,000 yen (about $5000). Increased penalty points for drunken driving initiated in June 2002 resulted in 15,000 fewer DRUNK DRIVERS in 2002. During 2002 people having their license revoked for drunk driving reached 54,000 (an increase of 65%) while those with their licenses suspended more than 90 days topped 166,000, an increase of 36% as the government strengthened moves against drunk drivers. Now blood alcohol levels as low as 0.15 mg can result in a drunk driving conviction.

The National Police Agency is seeking now seeking new legislation for prosecuting RECKLESS DRIVERS. The problem being that obtaining the cooperation of victims is a virtually a requirement and they now seek a revision permitting prosecution even where there is no victim, particularly where the are groups involved such as the notorious “bosozoku†motorcycle gangs.

A loophole crippling the prosecution of DRUNK DRIVING cases is also up for revision. Although the levels of alcohol for blood alcohol has been reduced, it became less costly to simply refuse the breathalyzer as compared to drunk driving convictions. Presently the maximum penalty for refusing the breathalyzer is a fine of up to 50,000 yen compared to up to 300,000 yen for drunk driving. Thus the National Police Agency is seeking to revise the legislation, making the penalty for refusing the breathalyzer the same level as for drunk driving.

The National Police Agency is also seeking new legislation which would impose hefty fines for driving while using their CELL PHONES, whether for voice calls or text messaging. The agency wants a fine of 50,000 yen (nearly $500) for such violations

Source: http://www.japanlaw.info/law2003/2003_TRAFFIC_LAW.html

DRIVING IN JAPAN: MY EVIDENCE, STATS, AND FLAME REBUKE

(Originally posted to Fukuzawa and Friends Wed,
Dec 20, 1995, modified August 28, 2002)

EFFECT: EVIDENCE THAT ACCIDENT RATES ARE HIGHER IN JAPAN THAN THE US

Of course, we could choose to compare Japan positively with Egypt, India, or Brazil, but let's talk OECD here. The ability for a rich, developed society to secure (and enforce) safety for its citizens is another social indicator. I choose Nichibei because I have stats on them. Points:

a) There are more fatalities per driven distance in Japan than America. Ed Lincoln already provided some stats to say that per distance driven, the US has 1.8 deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles vs 2.7 deaths per the same in Japan. This is an extra person dead in Japan for the same distance traversed. Moreover, since as Kaz noted, Japan only counts the death as a traffic fatality if it is within one or two days of the accident (vs within 30 days in the US). The Japanese numbers may in fact be significantly depressed.

b) But not all accidents result in death. Let's look at some stats I dug up for fender benders and the like:

"All motor vehicle accidents" US: 19,500,000 in 1991

SOURCE: World Almanac 1993

"douro koutsuu jikou suu" Japan: 643,097 in 1992, and rising

SOURCE: Hokkaido Nenkan, 1994 (Hokkaido Shinbunsha)

Now allowing for the same ratios that Ed used in his calculations for fatalities, the average American drives around 2.4 times farther than the average Japanese. However, even then, the adjusted number of fender-benders for Japan (around 1,537,333) looks to be about one-tenth of America's. Even discounting the number of fake whiplashes counted as accidents in America, this evidence doesn't support my case that Japan has worse drivers.

But let's look at it this way: more Americans have accidents yet more Japanese die from theirs. The point is that if a Japanese has a road accident, statistically he's less likely to walk away from it. Given that Japanese generally drive far slower than Americans (higher urban concentration and congestion, lower speed limits, etc.), this suggests something is systematically wrong--that something is, if I may be flippant, killing the Japanese motorist far more effectively than the hyped guns and the drunk drivers on American roads.

ROADS:

This has given Hokkaido the dubious distinction of having the most traffic fatalities. Yet Hokkaido's death rates (10.35 per hundred thou population in 92) are only about the midpoint of the rest of the country. That can hardly be attributed solely to the weather--even the more tropical places (Saga-ken at 11.01, Yamaguchi at 13.26) are higher. So that points towards drivers as the cause. Let's move on to that.

UNENFORCABLE LAWS

DRIVERS HERE GET USED TO IGNORING THE LAW.

A law's usefulness comes into question if nobody obeys it. The speed limits (30 KPH, not mph, in residential areas, 40 to 60 in other areas. 80 tops on the expressways.) are not obeyed by many except the toro toro ojisan and the learner drivers. Following the flow (not just in Hokkaido--I've driven in Touhoku too) generally gives speeds of at least 20 kph over the limit. And once you get used to breaking the law a little, it's only a matter of degree before you start unconsciously breaking the law a lot. Other minor infractions include extra lights on fenders (which seem to be on "brights" at all times, leaving you with dazzled imprints for several dangerous minutes), and the lack of red markings on projectiles off the back of trucks (shish-kebab, anybody?).

DRIVERS HERE CAN GET AWAY WITH A SURPRISING AMOUNT LEGALLY

Traffic police try to find blame on both sides in any accident, and assign insurance company liabilities so that both have to pay. That is a well-established expectation.

Evidence: so far, I have had two accidents, one serious (a guy ran a red light and clipped the back of my Civic--sending me spinning into traffic), one not (a storm drain popped up and jammed itself into my suspension). In both cases, the cops tried to assign blame to me--in a 20-80 sort of way (since it was obviously his fault) 1) because I should have looked both ways before entering an intersection tho I had a green light, and 2) I should have anticipated that storm drain (anzen fukakunin, he said). I was lucky--I got zero liability both times because in 1) the driver took pity on me (dazed and confused after hitting my head on the window) and capitulated, and 2) I argued with the cop. But nobody has ever heard of this happening before.

So what's the point? In the US, there are automatic punishments; a rear-ending, say, is the responsibility of the person in back. Always. In New York State, anyway. In Japan, a driver doesn't have to be quite so careful because he'll never have to pay for all of it. Moreover, if he argues well, he might even get 50-50! (happened to a fellow teacher rear-ended by some young punks, and to the former Sapporo Consul when some twerp U-turned in front of him on black ice). If every accident becomes open to negotiation as to who's to blame, the yakuza-types are gonna get a lot more carefree.

STATS FOR DRIVING ACCIDENTS

JAPAN:

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS:

• 11,086 (1989)
• 11,227 (1990)
• 11,105 (1991)
• 10,942 (1993)
• 11,024 (Dec11,1995)

TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS:

• 661,363 (1989)
• 643,097 (1990)
• 662,388 (1991)
• 724,675 (1993)

TOTAL NUMBER OF INJURED PERSONS:

• 814,832 (1989)
• 790,295 (1990)
• 810,245 (1991)
• 878,633 (1993)

CAUSES OF FATAL ACCIDENTS IN JAPAN (1991)

SPEEDING: 2404 deaths (22.8%)

VIOLATION OF SAFE DRIVING PRACTICES: 3692 (35%) broken down into:

• Driver Error 5.7%,
• Careless Driving 8.4%,
• Not keeping the eyes on the road (wakimi) 8.4%,
• Not confirming 5.2%, sono ta 5.8%

DRUNK DRIVING: 525 (5.0%)

NOT STOPPING PROPERLY: 490 (4.6)

GOING THROUGH RED LIGHT: 470 (4.5%)

PEDESTRIAN INTERFERENCE (hokousha bougai): 387 (3.7%)

RIGHT-OF-WAY INTERFERENCE: 402 (3.8%)

TRAFFIC ZONE VIOLATION: 370 (3.5%)

PASSING: 171 (1.6%)

PEDESTRIAN CARELESSNESS: 602 (5.7%)

OTHER AND UNCLEAR: 1034 (9.8%)

Sources: Japan Almanac 1993, Daily Yomiuri Dec 13, Imidas 1995

UNITED STATES:

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS WITH MOTOR VEHICLES INVOLVED (1991): 57,800

DEATH RATES (per 100,000 pop.) 18.9 (1989) 8.6 (1990) 17.2 (1991)

TOTAL NUMBER OF MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS: 19,500,000 (1991)

CAUSES OF FATAL ACCIDENTS IN THE US (1991)

TOTAL MOTOR VEHICLES: 43,500 deaths

COLLISION BETWEEN MOTOR VEHICLES: 18,500

COLLISION WITH FIXED OBJECT: 12,100

PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS: 7000

NON-COLLISION ACCIDENTS: 4500

COLLISION WITH PEDALCYCLE: 800

COLLISION WITH RAILROAD TRAIN: 500

COLLISION WITH ANIMALS, ANIMAL DRAWN VEHICLES, STREET CARS: 100

ALCOHOL-RELATED FATALITIES: 22,083 (50%)

Source: World Almanac 1993

DRUNK DRIVING IN JAPAN: rules are tougher than you think
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 95

There are two types of drunk driving (inshu unten): 1) The more serious type is called "juki obi unten", which means that there's an alcohol content of more than 0.25 ppm in your blood.

It's "shuki obi unten" and it is the lesser of the two charges.

Blood alcohol is ABOVE 2.5ml, and you lose your license for 30 days. The fines and prison term (if any) are determined by the court, according to the officer at Aichi Prefecture Police, but the cop didn't know the fine print of the law.

2) The less serious type is called "sake yoi unten", which means there's an >alcohol content of less than 0.25 ppm in your blood,

This is the more serious charge, and blood alcohol doesn't matter. The criteria is apparently your inability to safely operate the car. It is a 15 point charge, so if you have no prior offenses (no points against you, in other words) you lose your license for one year. If you do have points, you could lose your license for up to three years. Fines and prison terms are up to the court. The copy told me to look it up the limits myself! > >If you're caught, it is also apparently standard practice for the police to >report it to the papers and even your workplace. This could even result >in your salary being lowered.

In Aichi they don't contact your employer, and they don't hand out names to the papers, unless they deem it necessary, like when a drunk caused a big accident, crashed into a show window or something. And then it's not because it was a "drunk driving" case but because it was a crime, and a big incident.

Moreover, if you drink and drive you're arguably more likely to get caught here. There are certain funnel roads round here where you face booze checkpoint charlies, stopping every car one by one in the middle of the night to smell your breath and give you the balloon.

Your cops must work harder than ours. Our checkpoints generally last only from 7 to 9. And judging from the number of drunks on the road, it doesn't take much imagination to avoid the checkpoints on the nights they do it--generally Fridays, and days before holidays.

But you DO have to be careful how you get home after a night on the town. My friend purposely left his car at home and came on his bike. Round about midnight on his way home he was stopped by a patrol car at the bottom of a long hill (he was exceeding the speed limit on his BICYCLE). Cop told him to be more careful because he could also be cited for driving under the influence on his bicycle!

"Nomu nara, noruna. Noru nara, nomuna!"

Mark CW
Nagoya

(Further Epilogue: Things did not go all that peachy, it turns out, for two years later I was not only stopped repeatedly for speeding, but also lost my licence! Fascinating story of how I got it back is available here)

Sections Copyright 1995-2002, Arudou Debito/Dave Aldwinckle, Sapporo, Japan

Source: http://www.debito.org/drivingjapanapologia.html

Police target drunk drivers / NPA plans nationwide crackdown after series of accidents
The Yomiuri Shimbun

The National Police Agency is planning a nationwide, weeklong special crackdown on drunk driving from Tuesday in the aftermath of an alcohol-related traffic accident in Fukuoka last month in which three children lost their lives.

It is the first nationwide crackdown campaign exclusively targeting drunk driving.

Although fatal accidents caused by drunk drivers have been reduced by more than 30 percent due to the imposition of harsher punishments for the crime, they are expected to increase again this year as drivers seem to have returned to their careless habits.

In advance of the crackdown, the police have intensified investigations over the responsibility of restaurants and fellow passengers who allow drivers to drink.

A 48-year-old company employee stopped by the police for drunk driving said: "Since the fines increased, I've made it a rule not to drive my motorbike home when I drink. But I was careless this time."

He paid a branch of the Osaka Sub-District Public Prosecutors Office specializing in traffic accidents in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, a 100,000 yen fine, adding: "It was painful to pay that much, but better than causing an accident. I learned a valuable lesson."

The December 2001 revision of the Penal Code established new punishments regarding dangerous driving resulting in death or injury.

After the June 2002 revision of the Road Traffic Law increased the maximum fine for drunken driving from 100,000 yen to 500,000 yen, drunken driving accidents resulting in death fell drastically.

According to the NPA, alcohol-related road accidents in 2001 dropped by 34.5 percent from 1,191 to 780 in 2003. However, the number has not fallen much since 2004.

As of the end of July, there were 419 drunk driving accidents resulting in death, an increase of seven from the same period of the previous year.

In Kagawa Prefecture, 21 such accidents had occurred by the end of August, up from four over the same period last year.

"It seemed the harsher punishments increased awareness of the laws for a while, but as time has passed, drivers have become careless again," said a senior officer of the Osaka prefectural police, which have seen drunken driving accidents stay at the same level for the past three years.

In May, the Hyogo prefectural police searched a ramen shop in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, on suspicion of serving beer to a truck driver on duty in assisting him in violating the Road Traffic Law.

Many customers at the shop located along the busy National Highway Route 9 are long-distance truck drivers.

An employee of the shop, whose case was sent to prosecutors, told the police that if he did not serve beer to drivers, it would hurt the shop's sales.

On Aug. 25, a car carrying a family of five was rear-ended by another vehicle on a bridge in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka, causing it to fall into Hakata Bay, killing the three children inside.

The driver of the vehicle that hit the car, Futoshi Imabayashi, 22, an employee of the Fukuoka municipal government, had been drinking at a hostess bar with a fellow passenger just before the accident.

Five days after the accident, the NPA issued an urgent notice to police headquarters nationwide advising them to strictly investigate fellow passengers and restaurants in an attempt to pursue the responsibility of those who may have allowed drivers to cause accidents.

A senior NPA official said, "To change the climate that has allowed drunken driving, we'll punish those who serve alcohol to drivers as severely as the drunk drivers themselves."

During the crackdown week, police headquarters nationwide will deploy many officers on road inspections and in other prevention efforts.

The Wakayama prefectural police will request the cooperation of restaurant associations by giving them stickers with a message appealing for the prevention of drunk driving.

The Hiroshima prefectural police will be on the lookout for cars moving at unnaturally slow speeds, as drunk drivers are likely to be overly cautious in observing speed limits for fear of being noticed by the police.

Tomomi Imanari, a representative of Alcohol Yakubutsu Mondai Zenkoku Shimin Kyokai, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization tackling problems regarding alcoholism and drug addiction, said: "Under the influence of alcohol, regardless of its amount, our brains are likely to lose control. More efforts should be made to stop others from driving drunk."

(Sep. 10, 2006)

SAFER ROADS:
Traffic Deaths Fall to All-Time Low in 2002
March 18, 2003

Japan had 8,326 traffic fatalities in 2002 according to figures released by the National Police Agency, the fewest since the present statistics began in 1966 and less than half the peak in 1970. (In Japan, a traffic fatality is defined as a death within 24 hours of an accident as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.) The decrease is largely attributable to the new, more stringent penalties for drunk driving introduced in the Revised Road Traffic Law that went into effect in June 2002. Other factors include an increase in the proportion of people wearing seat belts and the production by automakers of safer cars.

Stiffer Penalties Take Effect Traffic fatalities actually were on an upward trend during the first half of 2002, defying expectations that a December 2001 law setting the penalty for reckless driving resulting in death at a maximum of 15 years in prison would produce immediate results. In January 2002 there were 643 traffic fatalities, up 3.9% over the same month in 2001, and April also saw a 2.9% increase. The law's introduction appeared to have made no obvious difference.

Things changed, however, with the implementation of the Revised Road Traffic Law in June. There were 42 fewer fatalities in June 2002 than the year before and 93 fewer in July. In the end, the toll in 2002 was down by 421 compared to 2001. Under the revised law, a motorist can be fined as much as ¥500,000 ($4,166 at ¥120 to the dollar) for driving while drunk - five times more than before - and the maximum fine for the lesser charge of driving under the influence of alcohol has increased sixfold to ¥300,000 ($2,500). Many analysts believe that the heavier penalties had the desired effect of curbing drunk driving and reduced the frequency of serious accidents. Moreover, the standard for applying the charge of driving under the influence has been lowered from 0.25 milligrams per liter of air in a breathalyzer test to 0.15 mg per liter, meaning that it could apply to a driver who has drunk only one glass of beer. This seems to be putting positive pressure on drivers as well.

The effect of seat belts cannot be overlooked, either. While 63.4% of drivers were using them in June 1992, a decade later the figure had grown to 86.9%. In addition, automakers have been making great efforts to improve the safety of their vehicles. Both factors have helped reduce the number of deaths, which accounted for 1.05% of all passengers injured in traffic accidents in 1992 but comprised just 0.49% of injuries in 2002.

Despite the general decrease, though, the number of traffic fatalities among people aged 65 and over rose by 128 to a total of 786. This can be traced to an increase in the number of seniors overall, and as Japanese society is expected to continue aging at a fast pace, improved traffic-safety measures aimed at this group are urgently needed.

Making Every Effort While penalties are being toughened and police are cracking down on offenders, local governments and private companies are also making efforts to prevent traffic accidents. One of the measures being tried out is to use headlights at all times. The first firm to implement this policy was a major delivery company that began a trial with its fleet of 20,000 vehicles in January 2002. The firm experienced 30% fewer accidents that month than the year before, so it made the policy permanent that March. Accidents between March and December were down 20% over the same period the previous year. Employees and observers alike have noted that using headlights in the daytime makes it easier for pedestrians and other vehicles to notice the delivery trucks, and some have also suggested that the policy has raised the safety awareness of the drivers.

Since March 2002 the Nagano Prefectural Police has been conducting a daytime headlight program involving more than 10,000 vehicles operated by participating taxi companies and other firms, and in June Nagasaki Prefecture followed suit with its 600 public vehicles. At present, over 160 municipalities throughout Japan are making similar efforts.

Meanwhile, steps are being taken to reduce the number of accidents at railroad crossings. The East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) is changing the colors of its railroad crossing barriers from black and yellow to red and white stripes. Cars often move into crossings even after the barriers start to come down, and while some drivers knowingly force their way across, many simply do not notice the bars descending. In an effort to prevent cars from breaking the barriers, JR East has introduced the red and white pattern at four crossings to test its effectiveness. The number of broken bars at those intersections dropped by 75%. Drivers have commented that the barriers stand out more than before and that it is easy to tell when they are coming down. Deregulation in the spring of 2002 has allowed railway companies to freely choose the colors they wish to use on barriers, so it seems likely that repainting will become commonplace.

Copyright (c) 2003 Japan Information Network.
Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.

Source: http://web-japan.org/trends01/article/030318soc_r.html

The drunk driving laws in Japan are among the strictest in the world. In the US, the amount of ethanol per liter of blood before a citizen is legally drunk varies by state. On average, Americans are still considered sober if they have less than 1 milligram of ethanol per liter of exhalation. In Japan, citizens are consider drunk once their exhalation surpasses 0.25 milligrams of ethanol per liter. Penalties for drunk driving include in an immediate loss of license, a large fine, and potential jail time. Any police officer arrested for drunk driving is immediately removed from the force.

Source: http://www.princeton.edu

2003 JAPAN LAW: TRAFFIC LAW
Keywords: Alcohol, Driving, Driver, License,
Bicycles, Pedestrians, Parking, Ambulance, Mitsubishi Motors
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman

Traffic Law? Traffic Law? Who cares about Traffic Law you say! Cell phones do not kill. Even drunks do not kill. Two tons of steel traveling at high speed kill. With over 100,000 people killed on the roads of America since September 11, 2001, compared to the fewer than 3000 killed in that admittedly tragic event, it should be given consideration. Those 3000 had led to a world turned topsy-turvy while the 100,000 are ignored.

Yet look at Japan. A great power. Obviously a master of automobiles in its own right. How does Japan perform?

During 2003 deaths from traffic accidents were running at an annual rate of 7,000 with those from drunken driving running at an annual rate of 750. With a population roughly half that of the USA. Thus from September 11, 2001 the number of deaths in Japan would be significantly less than 20,000 compared to 100,000 in the USA. How does Japan do this? Draconian traffic laws is one reason. Easy access to alternative means of transportation is another critical factor. When you are drunk in Japan you can easily take a train or subway home and taxis, while expensive by international standards, are not unreasonable compared to other prices in Japan.

In 2001, the maximum penalty for death from dangerous driving was raised to 15 years. In 2002 the amended Road Traffic Law increased the penalty for RECKLESS DRIVING to a maximum of 2 years in prison or 500,000 yen (about $5000). Increased penalty points for drunken driving initiated in June 2002 resulted in 15,000 fewer DRUNK DRIVERS in 2002. During 2002 people having their license revoked for drunk driving reached 54,000 (an increase of 65%) while those with their licenses suspended more than 90 days topped 166,000, an increase of 36% as the government strengthened moves against drunk drivers. Now blood alcohol levels as low as 0.15 mg can result in a drunk driving conviction.

The National Police Agency is seeking now seeking new legislation for prosecuting RECKLESS DRIVERS. The problem being that obtaining the cooperation of victims is a virtually a requirement and they now seek a revision permitting prosecution even where there is no victim, particularly where the are groups involved such as the notorious “bosozoku†motorcycle gangs.

A loophole crippling the prosecution of DRUNK DRIVING cases is also up for revision. Although the levels of alcohol for blood alcohol has been reduced, it became less costly to simply refuse the breathalyzer as compared to drunk driving convictions. Presently the maximum penalty for refusing the breathalyzer is a fine of up to 50,000 yen compared to up to 300,000 yen for drunk driving. Thus the National Police Agency is seeking to revise the legislation, making the penalty for refusing the breathalyzer the same level as for drunk driving.

The National Police Agency is also seeking new legislation which would impose hefty fines for driving while using their CELL PHONES, whether for voice calls or text messaging. The agency wants a fine of 50,000 yen (nearly $500) for such violations.

Source: http://www.japanlaw.info/law2003/2003_TRAFFIC_LAW.html

United States
Main article: Drunk driving (United States) All states have an illegal per se limit of 0.08%. Some states also include a lesser charge — often known as driving while impaired — at a BAC of around 0.05%. Also, in all states, drivers under the drinking age of 21 have committed a drunk driving offence if they have any alcohol in their blood (set at .01% or .02% to be meaningful). DUID is driving under the influence of drugs. A third possible charge is driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs; this requires no particular blood-alcohol level, but only impairment as the result of the combined effects of alcohol and drugs (which may be legal or illegal).

The limit for aircraft pilots is 0.04%, and for commercial drivers 0.04% or 0.05% depending upon the jurisdiction.

A current punishment for drunk driving is already under way in the state of Ohio, and is being looked at in California for DUI offenders to purchase a "scarlet letter" that is placed over the offender's license plates. This identifies them as a DUI offender, and must be purchased for all their household car's plates. This penalty is in addition to the regular DUI and court charges.

The effects of any alcohol consumption are exacerbated depending upon the physiological condition of the individual because of such factors as fatigue, lack of sleep, and the bodies ability to dissipate alcohol at any given time.

Penalties include fines, incarceration and license suspension. Severity of the penalty is based on the circumstances surrounding the violation.=

Canada
Driving under the influence is a generic term for a series of offences under the Canadian Criminal Code. The main offences are operating a motor vehicle while the ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or a drug, contrary to section 253(a) of the Criminal Code, and operating a motor vehicle while having a blood-alcohol concentration of greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, contrary to section 253(b) of the Criminal Code.

The offences are usually investigated by the police coming across a driver with either an erratic driving pattern or who has been pulled over. The police make a demand that the driver give a sample of his breath into an approved screening device, which will determine the driver's blood-alcohol concentration on a preliminary, non-evidentiary basis. If the police believe on reasonable and probable grounds that the driver is committing an offence under section 253 of the Criminal Code, the police can demand that the driver go to the police station to give samples of his breath for an approved instrument test, which would be used to prosecute the driver.

The punishments for impaired driving or driving over 80 are:

For the first offence: $600 fine, 1-year driving prohibition;or jail time For the second offence: 14 days jail, 2-year driving prohibition;and time in jail For the third or subsequent offence: 90 days jail, 3-year driving prohibition. On Dec 15, 2005, Charly Hart of Watford, Ontario, a man with a 35-year history of impaired driving which included thirty-nine convictions, was on the occasion of his latest such conviction sentenced to six years in prison, the most severe penalty ever handed down in Canada when the offence did not involve a fatality, and the maximum sentence permitted under the law.[1]=

Australia
Road laws are state based

Australian Capital Territory
0.02% for "professional" drivers (taxi, bus, dangerous goods vehicles, heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes, Commonwealth vehicles) and learner and P-plate drivers 0.05% for experienced drivers (that is drivers over 18 years of age who have been driving for more than 3 years and are not classed as "professional" drivers)

New South Wales
Zero for Learner and Provisional licences and 0.02 % for Drivers of vehicles of "gross vehicle mass" greater than 13.9 tonnes, vehicles carrying dangerous goods or public vehicles such as a taxi or bus. 0.05% for all other drivers

Queensland
A Zero limit applies to the drivers of trucks, buses, articulated vehicles, vehicles carrying dangerous goods, pilot vehicles, and taxis. It also applies to all learner drivers and provisional drivers under 25 years of age. 0.05% for other drivers.

South Australia
Zero limit for learner, provisional, probationary, heavy (greater than 15 tonne) vehicle, taxis, licensed chauffeured vehicles, dangerous goods, and bus licences. 0.05% for all other drivers.

Tasmania
Zero limit for learner, provisional, truck, bus, and taxi licences. 0.05% for all other drivers.

Victoria
Zero limit applies for unlicensed drivers and holders of Learner permits and Probationary licences, as well as any 'professional' drivers - including tram drivers. Also for certain relicensed drink-drivers. 0.05% for most other drivers. Licences cancelled for certain serious drink-driving offences may only be reissued after obtaining a court order. In such cases, the relicensed driver is subject to a zero limit for 3 years following relicensing or for as long as the person is required to use an alcohol interlock. Alcohol interlocks are required whenever a repeat drink-driver is relicensed. In addition, a court may impose an alcohol interlock when relicensing a first offender in certain serious cases (generally when the offence involved a BAC of 0.15% or higher). Zero limit for "prescribed illicit drugs", namely methamphetamine, THC (Cannabis) and, from 1 September 2006, the drug generally known as "ecstasy" [the full chemical description of ecstasy is "3, 4-Methylenedioxy-N-Methylamphetamine (MDMA)"]. Random testing of drivers is in force for alcohol and for prescribed illicit drugs.

Western Australia
0.03% for provisional (probationary) licence holders.
0.05% for all other drivers.
In Australia, there are laws that allow for a police officer to stop any driver and perform a random breath test, without needing any reason. In addition, in South Australia and Victoria, any driver can be required to perform a random saliva test for a prescribed illicit drug (i.e. methylampetamine and cannabis). Also, in Victoria, if a doctor sees any patient who is 15 years old or older as a result of a vehicle accident, the patient must allow the doctor to take a blood sample for testing for alcohol and drug content in a way that preserves the chain of evidence, regardless of whether the patient claims to be the driver, a passenger or any other circumstances. The results can be used as evidence in subsequent court proceedings.

Europe
Austria	0.05 % and 0.01 % for drivers who have held a licence for less than 2 years and drivers of vehicles over 7.5 tonnes
Belarus	0.05 %
Belgium	0.05 %
Bosnia-Herzegovina	0.05 %
Bulgaria	0.05 %
Croatia	Zero
Czech Republic	Zero
Denmark	0.05 %
Estonia	0.02 %
France	0.05 %
Finland	0.05 %
Germany	0.05 % and zero for drivers conducting commercial transportation of passengers
Gibraltar	Zero
Greece	0.05 % and 0.02 % for drivers who have held a license for less than 2 years and bus drivers
Hungary	Zero
Iceland	0.05 %
Ireland	0.08 %
Italy	0.05 %
Latvia	0.02 % for drivers with less than 2 years' experience and 0.05 % for those with more than 2 years' experience
Liechtenstein	0.08 %
Lithuania	0.04 %
Luxembourg	0.08 %
Malta	0.08 %
Netherlands	0.02 % for drivers with less than 5 years' experience and 0.05 % for those with more than 5 years' experience
Norway	0.02 %
Poland	0.02 %
Portugal	0.05 %
Republic of Moldova	0.03 %
Romania	Zero
Russia	0.02%
Slovakia	Zero
Slovenia	0.00 % for drivers with 2 years or less experience and professional drivers, 0.05 % for all others
Spain	0.05 % [2] and 0.03 % for drivers with less than 2 years experience and drivers of freight vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, and of passenger vehicles with more than 9 seats
Sweden	0.02 % (up to 6 months imprisonment), 0.10% (up to 2 years imprisonment)
Switzerland	0.05 %
Turkey	0.05 %
Ukraine	Zero
United Kingdom	0.08 %

Americas
Argentina	0.05 %
Argentina	0.05 %
Belize	0.08 %
Bolivia	0.07 %
Brazil	0.06 %
Canada	0.08 %
Chile	0.049 %
Colombia	0.04%
Costa Rica	0.049 %
Cuba	Zero
Dominican Republic	No Limit and 0.05 % for professional drivers
Ecuador	0.07 %
El Salvador	0.05 %
Guatemala	0.08 %
Guyana	0.01 %
Honduras	0.07 %
Jamaica	0.035 %
Mexico	0.08 %
Nicaragua	0.08 %
Panama	Zero
Paraguay	0.08 %
Peru	0.045 %
Suriname	0.08 %
United States	0.08 % or lower; varies by state
Uruguay	0.08 %
Venezuela	0.05 %

Africa
Algeria	0.01 %
Benin	0.05 %
Cape Verde	0.08 %
Central African Republic	0.08 %
Comoros	No Limit
Congo	No Limit
Equatorial Guinea	Zero
Eritrea	Zero
Ethiopia	No Limit
The Gambia	Zero
Ghana	0.08 %
Guinea	Zero
Guinea-Bissau	0.05 %
Kenya	0.08 %
Malawi	Zero
Mauritius	0.05 %
Namibia	0.05 %
Niger	0.08 %
Nigeria	Zero
Seychelles	0.08 %
South Africa	0.05 % and 0.02 % for professional drivers (trucks over 3.5 tonnes, and vehicles carrying passengers for reward) National Road Traffic Act, 1996
Togo	No Limit
Uganda	0.08 %
Tanzania	0.05 %
Zambia	0.08 %

Caucasus
Armenia	Zero
Azerbaijan	Zero
Georgia	0.03 %

Middle East
Iran	Zero. Drinking alcohol is illegal in Iran
Israel	0.05 %
Jordan	Zero
Kuwait	Zero. Drinking alcohol is illegal in Kuwait.

East Asia
China	Varies. "Drinking and driving" and "driving while intoxicated" carry different penalties.
Japan	0.03 %
Republic of Korea	0.052 %

Western Pacific
Australia	Zero for L and P-plate drivers, 0.05% for full licence
French Polynesia	0.05 %
Micronesia	0.05 %
New Zealand	Has a limit of 0.08% for drivers over 20 years, 0.03% for those under. LTSA website
Palau	0.01 %

Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan	0.05 %
Mongolia	0.02 %
Turkmenistan	0.033 %

South Asia
India	Zero; no such law
Nepal	Zero
Sri Lanka	0.06 %

South-East Asia
Cambodia	0.05 %
Laos	No Limit
Malaysia	0.08 %
Philippines	0.05 %
Singapore	0.08 %
Thailand	0.05 %

Philosophical perspectives
An overview of the philosophical approach to DUI, especially with respect to ethical and pedagogical concerns, is James B. Gould's "A Sobering Topic: Discussing Drunk Driving in Introductory Ethics" in 'Teaching Philosophy' 21:4 (December 1998), 339-360.

Gould's central point is that drunk-driving offers an ethical case that, for most people, is clear-cut in the fundamentals, familiar from everyday life, and extraordinarily complicated in the details. In other words, it's ideal for philosophical analysis at the introductory level.

He cites the few articles by academic philosophers that he could find:

Douglas N. Husak, "Is Drunk Driving a Serious
Offense?" 'Philosophy and Public Affairs' 23 (1994).
Bonnie Steinbock, "Drunk Driving." 'Philosophy and Public Affairs' 14 (1985).
James D. Stuart, "Deterrence, Desert and Drunk
Driving," 'Public Affairs Quarterly' 3 (1989).

See also

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_influence

Before the accident, the driver drank beer and shochu at one establishment and brandy at another. His car was doing nearly 100 kph when it smashed into the SUV.

To discourage drink driving by civil workers the Kochi prefectural government in 1997 decided in principle to fire all employees and officials shown to have driven under the influence of alcohol. After the Aug. 25 accident, Fukuoka Mayor Hirotaro Yamasaki announced a policy of dismissing city workers and officials even if they are arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. The Nagasaki city government and the Kanagawa prefectural government followed suit with similar announcements.

The number of fatal traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers and the percentage of drunk-driver involvement in all fatal traffic accidents in the first seven months of the year have gradually increased over the past three years: from 401 (11.2 percent) in 2004 to 412 (12.5 percent) in 2005 and 419 (13.6 percent) in 2006. Because cases of drunk driving continue to make headlines, the National Police Agency fears that the 2001 inclusion of "dangerous driving" as a crime into the Criminal Law, and the 2002 enactment of the revised Road Traffic Law with harsher punishments may be losing their deterrent effect.

The Fukuoka accident prompted the NPA to launch a nationwide crackdown the week of Sept. 12 on drinking and driving. Such crackdowns should be carried out more often, and without prior warning. Doing so would help change the attitude of those who drink and drive thinking that they will not be caught by the police. Another measure might be to place warning notices on actual alcohol containers and inside businesses with liquor licenses that list the legal punishments for driving under the influence of alcohol. Public-service announcements could also be broadcast on television and radio to warn of the dangers of drinking and driving. In addition, a system that automatically locks a vehicle's ignition when a certain level of alcohol is detected in a driver's breath should be developed and introduced.

After the Fukuoka accident, a taxi company in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, mandated that its drivers take a breath-analyzer test at the start of their shift instead of punching a time card. This meaningful effort only cost the company about 300,000 yen, a small price to pay for making the roads safer.

The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved
Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp

Oct. 02, 2005

Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A French citizen who has made a living in Kentucky as a filmmaker is facing deportation after he was detained for a six-year-old DUI conviction.

Marcel Cabrera was returning to the United States on July 7 from Canada when he was stopped by federal agents who checked his criminal record, found his conviction and took him into custody.

The crash occurred when Cabrera, a 48-year-old artist and filmmaker who moved to Louisville in 1989, lost control of his Jeep on a curvy road after having a few drinks. The crash severely injured his then-girlfriend, a passenger in his car.

But Cabrera nursed her back to health and pleaded guilty to DUI, wanton endangerment and assault.

He served out his probation, which included a 90-day jail term last year for violating its terms.

"I paid my dues," said Cabrera, 48. "I thought I was in the clear."

He has been held without bail since Aug. 17 at a maximum-security jail in Illinois. The government is trying to deport him under a law that allows immigrants who are not naturalized citizens to be removed for violent offenses.

Cabrera, who is living in the U.S. on a green card, says he has served his time for the crime, which he and supporters say was an accident and not a violent offense.

"I had alcohol in my blood, but I didn't try to kill my passenger - it was an accident," Cabrera said in a phone interview from jail with The Courier-Journal last week.

He is scheduled to appear Oct. 25 before an immigration judge in Chicago.

His friends and supporters say it would be unjust to deport Cabrera, given the nature of his crime, the fact he's served his sentence and his filmmaking contributions.

Cabrera's lawyer, Dan Owens, says deportation should be reserved for more deliberate acts - "like hitting somebody over the head with a baseball bat."

Twenty supporters have written to the immigration court on his behalf, including the woman injured in his DUI crash, Ann Harpole.

The president of the Louisville chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Carolyn Scharf, has even said Cabrera shouldn't be deported. Scharf said that while she believes drunk driving is a violent crime, "I personally feel the government is going too far in deporting somebody for it."

Cabrera owns a movie lighting business and has shot numerous commercials and feature films, including "Assisted Living."

The 1996 immigration law under which he could be deported allows non-naturalized citizens to be removed years after their crimes, no matter how long they have lived in this country, for violent crimes that are considered aggravated felonies.

According to court records, Cabrera was driving about 50 miles per hour when he crashed and critically injured Harpole, then 49. In a letter urging probation, she later described it as an "isolated" incident and said Cabrera was "the best possible nurse" and "a kind and gentle person."

After Cabrera pleaded guilty, a judge issued a seven-year sentence but placed him on probation for five years instead of sending him to prison.

See Article: www.kentucky.com

Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com

A man has been fined $6000 for Driving under the influence of alcohol and dangerous driving by the Suva Magistrates Court this morning.

The court heard that Lai Dickson drove his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol on 17th February this year resulting in a collision with a van at Wailoku road.

In the first ruling of this nature, Magistrate Viliame Nadakuitavuki fined him $5000 for Drunk driving and $1000 for dangerous driving, or in default 6 years imprisonment.

He has also been banned from obtaining any license for the next 5 years.

Magistrate Nadakuitavuki also issued a bench warrant against Dickson as he was not present in court.

Source: http://www.fijivillage.com

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- A drunken-driving accident doesn't necessarily provide grounds for U.S. immigration officials to deport an alien, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.

The justices unanimously overturned a federal appeals court decision that Josue Leocal could be deported to his native Haiti. The court said Leocal's conviction for a 2000 drunken-driving accident in Florida doesn't qualify as a "crime of violence," a status that would authorize deportation.

The opinion was written by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who hasn't been at the court since his Oct. 25 announcement that he is being treated for thyroid cancer. Justice John Paul Stevens, who presided as the court heard arguments in two cases today, said Rehnquist would take part in the cases by reviewing legal briefs and argument transcripts.

In the drunken-driving case, Rehnquist said the Florida law under which Leocal was convicted requires only that prosecutors prove negligence, not that they show recklessness or an intent to injure someone. Rehnquist said that didn't fit the category of "violent, active crimes" that Congress sought to punish through the deportation law.

"Drunk driving is a nationwide problem, as evidenced by the efforts of legislatures to prohibit such conduct and impose appropriate penalties," Rehnquist wrote. "But this fact does not warrant our shoehorning it into statutory sections where it does not fit."

The accident injured two people. Leocal pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious bodily injury while driving under the influence of alcohol. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

The case is Leocal v. Ashcroft, 03-583.

Last Updated: November 9, 2004 12:26 EST

Executive Summary

Much of the progress that has been made in impaired driving in the last decade or more has been facilitated by lessons learned from other countries. It is therefore both timely and appropriate for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to sponsor a systematic effort to gather information about impaired driving laws from countries around the world. The intent of this effort is to contribute to our understanding of impaired driving countermeasures and of how the current situation in the United States compares to other countries. The parameters of the report are described below.

Countries Included

The primary purpose of this project is to provide comparisons with the United States, and therefore possible guidance in the development and implementation of impaired driving policies in this country. Therefore, the main focus of data collection was on countries that would be considered most directly comparable to the United States, economically and demographically, as well as those countries with which we have the most direct dealings. These countries include:

• Members of the European Union, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom
• Other western European countries, including Norway and Switzerland
• Canada Mexico Australia New Zealand Japan
• Other countries of possible interest were included as data were available.

Laws Included

While many different laws are relevant to impaired driving, this project focused on several of the most important laws. These laws include:

Illegal blood alcohol content (BAC) levels for various classes of drivers; The minimum purchase age for alcohol; Age of driving licensure; Standard sanctions for first offenses and multiple offenses; The imposition of more severe sanctions for drivers with higher BACs Graduated licensing systems; Systems for the regranting of licenses.

Methodology

Most of the information for this report was gathered through inquiries from key informants identified in each of the countries of interest. Most informants were from government transportation agencies. Some informants were from relevant university departments. In some cased, available information was collected from other published or unpublished sources. Appendix A indicates the source(s) of information for each country.

Results The results of the overview of laws indicate some of the major differences across countries and some of the contrasts between the United States and other countries. Major findings include:

The illegal BAC for most of the United States is higher than for any of the other countries studied. The minimum purchase age for alcohol is older in the United States than for almost all other countries studied. Licensing age for most countries is some years older than the minimum purchase age for alcohol. Sanctions in other countries tend to be based primarily on arrest BAC.

The potential impact of international free trade agreements on laws and policies related to traffic safety must be considered in this context. Another important factor in international comparisons is the cultural differences reflected in public attitudes towards impaired driving and towards relevant laws.

Analysis of the relationship between laws related to impaired driving and the proportion of alcohol-related crashes is a logical next step. This analysis must be undertaken with caution because of the complicated measurement issues inherent in reporting of alcohol involvement in traffic crashes.

Background and Introduction

Much of the progress that has been made in impaired driving in the last decade or more has been facilitated by lessons learned from other countries. For example, the United States drew valuable lessons regarding deterrence from analyzing the results of the British Road Safety Act of 1967. Similarly, we have learned about alcohol policy and serious enforcement and penalties from some of the Scandinavian countries. The Australian experience with random breath testing has influenced some of our own enforcement efforts. It is therefore both timely and appropriate for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to sponsor a systematic effort to gather information about impaired driving laws from countries around the world. The intent of this effort is to contribute to our understanding of impaired driving countermeasures and of how the current situation in the United States compares to other countries. The parameters of the report are described below.

Countries Included The primary purpose of this project is to provide comparisons with the United States, and therefore possible guidance in the development and implementation of impaired driving policies in this country. Therefore, the main focus of data collection was on countries that would be considered most directly comparable to the US, economically and demographically, as well as those countries with which we have the most direct dealings. These countries include:

Members of the European Union, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Other western European countries, including Norway and Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Japan were also included.

Other countries of possible interest were included as data were available. These include Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Russia.

Laws Included While many different laws are relevant to impaired driving, this project focused on several of the most important laws. These laws include:

Illegal blood alcohol content (BAC) levels for various classes of drivers; The minimum purchase age for alcohol;

Age of driving licensure; Standard sanctions for first offenses and multiple offenses; The imposition of more severe sanctions for drivers with higher BACs Graduated licensing systems; Systems for the regranting of licenses.

For some countries, of course, laws are not standard nation-wide, but rather vary by state or province. Where this is the case, information about each sub-national entity is reported separately.

Methodology

Most of the information for this report was gathered through inquiries from key informants identified in each of the countries of interest. Most informants were from government transportation agencies. Some informants were from relevant university departments. In some cased, available information was collected from other published or unpublished sources.

Comparison of Impaired Driving and Related Laws

Impaired Driving Laws

Several types of legislation may play key roles in controlling impaired driving. These include the BAC level established as illegal, the sanctions imposed for impaired driving under different circumstances, the use of rehabilitation programs for offenders, and the system for regranting the licenses of offenders whose driving privilege has been suspended or revoked. Existing laws in each of these areas are described below.

Illegal BAC

All countries included in the study have established a blood alcohol content that is considered either per se or preemptive evidence of impairment. The illegal BAC level has been found to have an effect on impaired driving crashes (Johnson and Fell 1995, C berg 1995).

All of the countries studied had a BAC level lower than that established in most of the United States (.10).

The lowest illegal BAC level is in Sweden (.02). The majority of countries have established .05 as the illegal BAC, with the remaining countries maintaining an illegal level of .08. The trend has been downward in recent years, with nine countries having reduced the illegal BAC level within the past five years or with new lower limits about to be implemented. These recent reductions in illegal BAC levels have resulted in some pre-post evaluations of the effects of the change. Belgium lowered its limit to .05 in December of 1994, reporting a 14 percent reduction in fatalities in the following year. The legal limit in France was lowered to .05 in December of 1995. Fatal crashes in 1996 were reduced by 4 percent (ETSC 1997).

As mentioned above for driver licensing laws, a few countries have established a lower BAC for young drivers. Such laws have been found to be effective in the United States in reducing alcohol- related crashes among young drivers (Hingson et al. 1994, Blomberg 1992).

Interestingly, few countries have established lower BACs for drivers of commercial vehicles or vehicles used in public transportation. This is in contrast to laws in the United States regarding commercial drivers in which any alcohol present removes the driver from service for 24 hours and a BAC of .04 is a legal violation.

It is due to go to the upper house today but it remains unclear if police will be able to put the new powers into effect over the Easter weekend. A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Carl Scully said the government wanted the legislation passed as soon as possible but that getting operational instructions to police in a matter of two days could prove difficult.

Police Minister Paul Whelan outlined the intent of the legislation last week. He said police would be given the power to forbid drunks from driving, confiscate their keys and hand the keys to someone capable of driving. Police could keep the keys for as long as necessary to protect drunk drivers from themselves, he said.

Mr Whelan said similar laws already existed in Tasmania and Victoria. Mr Scully also said legislation cracking down on dangerous loads would be introduced into parliament this session. Under proposed changes, owning, driving, permitting or causing a dangerously loaded vehicle to be driven would be an offence.

Anybody found liable where someone was killed or injured, or property damaged, would face up to one year in jail, Mr Scully said.

BURNABY, B.C., Jan. 13 /CNW/ - Armed with overwhelming support from its members, the 700,000-strong British Columbia Automobile Association is calling upon government to implement a mandatory substance abuse assessment and rehabilitation program for all impaired drivers.

"It's time we started treating the root of drunk driving,'' says BCAA President Bill Bullis. "More than 60 per cent of the people charged with impaired driving are repeat offenders. Clearly, the threats of arrest, conviction and suspension aren't doing anything to change the behavior of these people. That's because many of them have serious drinking or other substance abuse problems, and until we treat those problems, we're not going to get impaired drivers off the roads.''

BCAA is asking government to make mandatory assessment and rehabilitation part of the Administrative Driving Prohibition Program, which is scheduled to be introduced province-wide this spring. ADP, which is one of the Traffic Safety Initiatives for which BCAA lobbied, will enable police to suspend the licences of people who refuse to give blood or breath samples, or who test above the legal blood alcohol limit (.08). The three-month suspension will take place regardless of the outcome of criminal charges.

BCAA believes all drivers whose licences are suspended under the ADP program should undergo a mandatory assessment for alcohol or drug abuse. Those found to have substance abuse problems should then be required to complete a mandatory rehabilitation program prior to having their driving privileges returned. B.C. is the only province in Canada that does not have some form of compulsory rehabilitation for impaired drivers.

There is overwhelming support for the program among BCAA members. According to an Angus Reid survey conducted in June, 1996, 91 per cent of BCAA members support a mandatory assessment and rehabilitation program for impaired drivers. In addition, 435 BCAA members have responded to a BCAA mailed update on the topic indicating they support the program. The Ministries of Transportation and Highways, and Health have both told BCAA they have received approximately 100 letters from individual members of the public requesting such a program.

"Our efforts to make this important program a reality have been received favorably by the responsible ministers,'' says Bullis. "On behalf of our members, however, we eagerly await the government's assurance that mandatory assessment and rehabilitation will be part of the Administrative Driving Prohibition Program when it is introduced this spring. Drunk driving is still the leading criminal cause of death in B.C. - it's time we started dealing with it effectively.''

BCAA works for and with more than 700,000 members to represent their interests and to satisfy their needs for security and peace of mind in motoring, travel and at home.

For further information: Ellen Chesney, Public Affairs, (604) 268-5340

BRITISH COLUMBIA AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION

General Inquiries cnw@newswire.ca

Technical Issues webmaster@newswire.ca