Has the "Shinjong Corona" reduced drinking gatherings? ... Drunk driving traffic accidents down 26%

Police Drunk Driving Crackdown Changes from Random Checks to Selective Inspections at Vulnerable Locations and Times
"Measure to Reduce Public Anxiety"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Since the recent Lunar New Year holiday, both drunk driving traffic accidents and the number of enforcement cases have significantly decreased. This appears to be due to a reduction in drinking gatherings amid growing concerns over the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia).

According to the National Police Agency on the 5th, the nationwide drunk driving traffic accidents that occurred during the week from January 28 to February 3, following the Lunar New Year holiday, averaged 28.0 cases per day. Compared to the daily average of 38.0 cases from January 1 to 27, this represents a 26.3% decrease. Last year, the average daily number of drunk driving traffic accidents was 41.3 cases.

During the same period, the number of police drunk driving enforcement cases also dropped from an average of 329 per day to 209, a 36.5% decrease. While the implementation of the so-called 'Second Yoon Chang-ho Act (Revised Road Traffic Act),' which lowered the blood alcohol concentration standard to 0.03%, may have had some effect, the primary reason is attributed to the spread of the novel coronavirus. As more people refrained from going out, evening drinking gatherings naturally decreased.

With the novel coronavirus crisis alert level raised to 'caution,' the police temporarily suspended 'mass checkpoint' drunk driving enforcement from January 28 and switched to selective enforcement. This changed the method from checking all vehicles passing through designated points for alcohol consumption to targeting suspected drunk driving vehicles at vulnerable locations and times. This measure was also taken during the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak.

The police plan to utilize the personnel and equipment previously assigned to drunk driving enforcement for drunk driving prevention activities while strengthening selective enforcement. During enforcement, instead of using breathalyzers that are repeatedly used on multiple people (which only indicate the presence of alcohol), they will immediately use disposable mouthpieces with breath alcohol testers (devices that measure blood alcohol concentration by breath) to reduce infection risk, and if requested by the driver, conduct blood tests for alcohol measurement.

However, concerns have been raised that undetected drunk driving may increase due to the suspension of mass checkpoint enforcement. In response, a National Police Agency official stated, "We have temporarily suspended mass checkpoint enforcement, which can cause public anxiety and discomfort, but we have not completely stopped drunk driving enforcement. We will continue enforcement using the modified method for the time being, and if the crisis level is lowered or the risk is deemed resolved, we will resume the previous method (mass checkpoint enforcement)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.