GREATER RISK: Studies in other countries have found that accidents involving riders are 35 times more likely to be fatal, Taipei City Hospital doctor Kuo Yan-chun said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 12, 2020
By: Yang Yuan-ting and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Twice as many scooter and motorcycle riders were caught operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol as drivers of other vehicles over the past four years, a study by Taiwan Against Drunk Driving (TADD) and Taipei City Hospital’s Songde branch found.

Two-thirds of those found guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) were riders of two-wheeled vehicles, most of whom had consumed beverages with an alcohol content of less than 10 percent.

Riders committing DUIs tended to be younger than drivers committing the offense, and most were single women, although drunk motorists were found to be more likely than drunk riders to reoffend in the same month, said study leader Huang Ming-chyi (黃名琪), a physician at the Songde branch’s Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment Department.

The average age of drunk riders was 34, while the average age of drunk drivers was 42. Among the drunk riders, 51.2 percent had consumed beverages with an alcohol content of less than 10 percent before riding, while 45 percent of drunk drivers had consumed beverages with an alcohol content of 40 percent or more, said Songde branch physician Kuo Yan-chun (郭彥君), who helped conduct the study.    [FULL  STORY]