The Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which is supposed to be in charge of traffic safety, although that seems to be left to chance in most places, recently made a few amendments to the Road Traffic Security Rules (道路交通安全規則).
The first one is that foreigners no longer have to reapply for a driver’s license every time their Alien Resident Certificates expire, returning to the old system that foreigners’ Taiwanese driver’s licenses will now be valid for six years, just like those for Taiwanese.
That’s a step in the right direction for the ministry, but what’s more important is enforcing that motorists have licenses in the first place. What’s to stop foreign motorists from just driving without a license, given that the police normally let them off with a warning or just wave them away without checking as soon as they realize they’ve pulled over a foreign national?
A second rule change is that motorists are no longer allowed to have multimedia devices running when their vehicles’ engines are turned on. Somebody at the ministry must have recently taken a taxi ride that made him or her realize how dangerous it is to drive and watch soap operas or ball games at the same time.
Again, this regulation isn’t going far enough. What’s to stop a driver from turning on small LED screens in or over their dashboard so that they have something to watch when stopped at one of the numerous 90-second traffic lights? Police are so busy directing traffic that they can’t be asked to pay attention to this detail. The new fine will likely make motorists a little more cautious about how they go about using multimedia devices, but it won’t stop the practice altogether.
The key, like with all traffic rules, is enforcement. If a rule is not enforced, few people will follow it, even if it is for their own good.
Talking on cellphones was banned more than a decade ago and enforcement was strict initially. Today, drivers can be seen attempting maneuvers that need at least two hands on the wheel while using one hand to hold their cellphones up to their ears. More MRT and bus commuters and pedestrians use earphones with their cellphones than motorists do.
Another example is the right of way given to pedestrians. At a crosswalk where a motorist has a green light and a pedestrian has a walk signal, the motorist is supposed to wait for the pedestrian to cross the road before turning right across his path. This is actually a law and a motorist can be fined if he doesn’t give people on foot the right of way.
However, outside the initial campaign launch years ago and periodic refreshers when there has been a particularly gruesome accident drawing widespread media attention, this law, like many other related laws, is rarely enforced. It’s not uncommon to see police standing idly by as a motorist steps on the gas to get to a crosswalk a split second earlier than someone on foot so he can get through the light first. All too frequently there are near misses or accidents because of drivers’ impatient attitudes and misplaced sense of entitlement.
Another example of rules not being enforced is when taxi drivers almost kill people on scooters to catch a fare who inconsiderately hails the taxi without regard to anybody else on the road. Rules and fines have been discussed to address this situation, but it seems that nothing will stop taxi drivers from recklessly pulling to the side of the streets from the far left lane unless they are forced to do so.
Changing regulations to relax rules or create fines for improper behavior is meaningless if there is no enforcement to back up the rules. Police are trying to address this, but they rely too heavily on speed cameras and spot checks, while ignoring reckless driving and selfish behavior. Until these are addressed, using Taiwan’s streets will always have that third-world feel of risking one’s life at every moment.
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