“Excessively Stringent Regulations on Disqualification of Driver Licenses Violate the Freedom of Equality” (04-18-2003)
The NHRC releases opinion on the National Police Agency-Proposed Amendment to the Road Traffic Act
In response to the National Police Agency’s (NPA) request for an opinion on the NPA-proposed amendment to the Road Traffic Act, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) released the following opinions: (1) for revision of paragraphs 2 and 5 (article 82: clause 1) which stipulate that persons with mental diseases (in the law, “lunatic”), mentally retarded (in the law, “mentally weak”), epileptic, or persons addicted to narcotics, hemp, psychotropic drugs, or alcohol shall be refused issuance of a driver license (disqualification); (2) for revision of paragraphs 5 and 6 (article 82: clause 2) and paragraphs 7 and 8 (article 93: clause 1), which indiscriminately restrict, unless a certain time period has elapsed, disqualified persons from seeking a re-issuance without case-by-case consideration nor consideration for patients whose condition have improved; and (3) for deferral of introducing the “Beginner Driver Supervision Period System” that is being promoted in the proposed amendment bill.
The NHRC found that owing to the excessive breadth of the rules for disqualification, paragraphs 2 and 5 (article 82: clause 1) are contrary to the principle of clarity when restricting basic rights and violate the right of equality (of mentally disabled persons who are capable of safe driving) enshrined in the Constitution and international conventions.
Paragraphs 7 and 8 (article 93: clause 1) and paragraphs 5 and 6 (article 82: clause 2) of the proposed amendment: (1) stipulate excessively long waiting periods for driver license reissuance without case-by-case consideration nor consideration for patients whose condition have improved; (2) run counter to the principle prohibiting excessive restrictions of freedoms and rights enshrined in the Constitution (article 37: clause 2) thereby violating the right to equality and in general, the freedom of action enshrined in article 11 of the Constitution and in international conventions.
Based on general statistics indicating that the proportion of beginner drivers’ accidents to total accidents is high, the NPA promotes introducing a “Beginner Driver Supervision Period System” (articles 2, 73, 83 and 93 of the proposed bill) to toughen criteria for administrative disposition (revocation and suspension of driver license) with regard to beginner drivers. However, since non-beginner driver traffic violations outnumber beginner driver traffic violations, the NHRC saw room to re-examine this proposed system.
