Drug driving is on the rise... crackdown and punishment regulations are insufficient

Last year, 82 drug driving licenses were revoked… 41% increase from 2019
There are likely to be more cases of drug driving due to lack of crackdown regulations.
Simple drug driving punishment is weaker than drunk driving

[Daily Good News] Reporter Park Sang-woo = Recently, ‘drug driving’, which refers to driving under the influence of drugs, has been on the rise, but it is pointed out that there is an urgent need to prepare countermeasures due to insufficient crackdown and punishment regulations.

According to the National Police Agency, secondary crimes that occurred after taking drugs amounted to ▲182 cases in 2020, ▲230 cases in 2021, and ▲214 cases in 2022.

Among these, traffic crimes were counted as 45 cases in 2020, 67 cases in 2021, and 66 cases in 2022. One in four secondary crimes that occur after drug use is a traffic crime. In addition, the number of cases where driver's licenses were revoked due to drug use increased by 41% from 58 cases in 2019 to 82 cases in 2023 (January to October).

This increase in drug driving is due to an increase in the number of drug offenders. According to the prosecution, the number of crackdowns on drug offenders increased by 45.8% from 12,613 in 2018 to 18,395 in 2022.

The problem is that crackdown and punishment regulations for drug driving are insufficient.

According to research results from the University of Iowa, driving after taking drugs containing diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, can lead to a more dangerous situation than drunk driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1%. A blood alcohol concentration of 0.1% is subject to driver's license cancellation, imprisonment for between 1 and 2 years, or a fine ranging from 5 million won to 10 million won.

According to another study, drug addicted patients who suffer from serious psychomotor disorders due to drug dependence show effects and symptoms corresponding to blood alcohol concentration of 1.7-3.0% or higher.

Here, drug users tend to engage in their own specific behaviors after taking drugs.

Kim Nang-hee, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, explained, “One of the characteristics of drug users is that they show a pattern of behavior that they must do after taking drugs. For example, there are many types of people, such as going into a corner of the room, playing music and staying still, or having to drive, but these people can be more dangerous.”

However, there are currently no provisions to crack down on drug driving, so drug tests can only be conducted in special situations where alcohol intake cannot be measured even if the driver speaks gibberish or exhibits abnormal behavior. As a result, the police often do not crack down on drug use, citing the lack of crackdown regulations as an excuse, and drug use often goes undetected. For this reason, estimates suggest that the actual number of drug-driving cases is much higher than the number of cases cracked down by the police.

According to the current Road Traffic Act, drug driving is punishable by up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won. This is only half of the penalty for drunk driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2% or more, imprisonment for between 2 and 5 years, or a fine of between 10 million won and 20 million won.

In particular, the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specific Crimes provides for the punishment of drug driving, but this only applies if it results in a fatal accident. In other words, the punishment for simple drug driving is actually weaker than that for drunk driving.

For example, in 2021, in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, a driver who caused a serial collision while driving after taking psychotropic drugs and left the scene was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation.

Accordingly, in April 2022, an amendment to the Road Traffic Act was proposed to strengthen the punishment for drug driving from ‘imprisonment for not more than 3 years or a fine not exceeding 10 million won’ to ‘imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine not exceeding 20 million won.’

Last year, an amendment was made to punish drug-driving with a prison sentence of 2 to 15 years or a fine of 30 million to 50 million won for causing injury, and for causing death to life or more than 5 years in prison, and an amendment that aims to measure the degree of drug influence of drivers suspected of drug-driving and establish standards, measurement methods, and procedures for driving prohibited by 'Presidential Decree.' It was proposed.

However, these bills were not submitted to the last regular session of the 21st National Assembly, which closed on December 9 last year. Currently, the National Assembly is holding an extraordinary session and discussing pending bills. If it is not processed at the plenary session held on the 25th and 1st of next month, discussion of the bill may have to start from square one in the 22nd National Assembly.

Experts point out that drug driving crackdowns and punishment regulations must be strengthened as soon as possible.

A legal expert who requested anonymity advised, “Just as there is a perception that drunk driving will result in crackdowns, we need to establish crackdown standards related to drug driving to raise awareness,” and added, “We need to introduce regulations that can simultaneously test for drinking and drug use, and standards for punishing people based on the level of drug use, like drunk driving.”

Some also point out that it is necessary to strengthen the capabilities of front-line police departments to crack down on drug driving.

Kim Dong-jin, a lawyer at Daeryun Law Firm, advised, “The front-line district or police station traffic investigation teams are not well equipped with drug diagnostic kits (to crack down on drug driving), and drug testing is not compulsory, so there are limitations in carrying out body hair collection,” and added, “It is necessary to have a drug investigation team at the police station and strengthen the ability of front-line police stations to crack down on drug driving by distributing and training on drug testing kits.”

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