Is it illegal not to have a traffic accident after drunk driving?
In rare cases after drunk driving, even if there is no traffic accident, such as drunk driving, which is quite dangerous and destructive, it may be considered as a crime of endangering public safety. For example, the perpetrator drunk driving in a busy road section, ran a red light several times in a row, or backed up at a high speed, which caused many cars to brake suddenly, causing panic among other drivers and pedestrians, and did not cause an accident after being stopped by the traffic police. In this case, drunk driving poses an imminent and high danger to public safety. According to Article 1 14 of the Criminal Law, drunk driving can be regarded as a crime of endangering public security and will be sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison. In practice, it is rare for drunk driving to cause specific dangers without causing accidents. Therefore, it should be a very rare case to identify this behavior as a crime of endangering public safety.
The difference between drunk driving and general traffic accidents is that drivers have no effective control over motor vehicles, which is very harmful to public safety, while drunk driving knowingly commits crimes, indicating that drivers at least let the harmful consequences happen. Therefore, in order to crack down on this crime, they should be punished according to law.
If the perpetrator's drunken driving accident is a collision, and the consequences of causing casualties or property losses to others meet the prescribed criteria for conviction of traffic accidents, it is generally recognized as a traffic accident crime, not a crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means. Because the consequences of the accident are aggravated, this does not mean that drunk driving is as risky and destructive as arson and breaking water, nor does it mean that drunk drivers must take a thoughtful attitude towards the consequences of the accident.