Japan to Toughen Penalties over Drunken Truck Drivers

Jiji Press

16:27 JST, July 15, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Japan’s transport ministry plans to strengthen administrative penalties on logistics companies whose truck drivers were found drunk at the wheel.

The ministry is currently collecting public comments about the tougher penalties, which are slated to be introduced in January 2025.

The planned measures are part of a policy package the government drew up in June last year to address the so-called 2024 problem in the logistics industry, or truck driver shortages stemming from a new overtime regulation put into place in April this year for such drivers and subsequent disruptions in cargo transport operations.

The annual number of traffic accidents caused by drunken truck drivers has been leveling off above 30 and below 50 since 2012 after steadily continuing to decline.

This trend prompted the ministry to strengthen penalties under the trucking business law in an effort to clamp down on drunken driving.

While the number of trucks subject to suspension and the period of suspension vary depending on the size of businesses, the current rules basically suspend one truck from operation for 100 days over drunken driving.

Under the new stricter rules, the period of suspension will be extended for 100 days if companies whose drivers were found to be drunk at the wheel are confirmed to have neglected to check if their drivers are drunk before the start of work and failed to educate them over drunken driving.

According to the ministry, multiple violations, such as overworked driving and failure to do prework alcohol checks, tend to be detected in audits of trucking companies where drunken driving was found.

Accumulated violations could lead to business suspension.