Aug. 25 marked the third anniversary of a tragic traffic accident in the city of Fukuoka that caught nationwide attention. On that night in 2006, a car driven by a drunken Fukuoka city government worker rear-ended a sports utility vehicle carrying a family of five — a couple and their three children — on a bridge, causing the SUV to plunge into Hakata Bay. All three children were killed.

On the very day of the anniversary, a police sergeant of the Kokura Minami police station in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run accident. A blood test detected 1.27 milligrams of alcohol per milliliter of blood — more than four times the threshold of 0.3 mg. It is especially regrettable that this incident involved a police officer who is empowered to arrest drunken drivers and is supposed to be a role model for obeying the law.

In 2008, there were 4,295 death-causing traffic accidents involving sober drivers against 305 such accidents involving drunken drivers. Still, it must be remembered that if one drives under the influence of alcohol, he or she is much more likely to cause a traffic accident than a sober driver. This is a plain truth. In this sense, drinking before driving is very irresponsible.

On the night of Aug. 24 the police officer who was arrested had driven his car down a highway in the city of Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in the wrong direction. His car collided head-on with a car driven by a woman in her 50s. He was later found sitting on the roadside some 200 meters away. He is suspected of having left the scene without helping the woman, who suffered head injuries. As he refused a breath test, a court order was obtained to have his blood tested.

In June, a former assistant police inspector of the Kokura Kita police station was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. And an assistant police officer in central Hokkaido is suspected of having driven a patrol car after drinking alcohol. How many police officers are doing this? It would not be surprising if more people, as a result of these reports, became less conscientious about not driving after drinking.