Several minor traffic accidents on the nation’s major highways were reported yesterday, aggravating the already heavy traffic usually seen on the second day of the Lunar New Year, when married daughters traditionally return to their parents’ home.
Three vehicles collided at the 360.5km mark of the northern section of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) at 10:04am, causing traffic to back up for 5km.
Another accident involving two vehicles was reported at the 316.5km mark at 11:05am, which occupied three lanes of the freeway and had an even greater impact on traffic.
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
At 10:45am, two vehicles collided on the 54km mark of the southern section of the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3), leading to an 11km-long traffic jam.
In the afternoon, an accident involving a small vehicle at the 7.5km mark on the northern section of the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) occurred at 2:55pm, causing traffic to back up for 1.5km.
According to the Freeway Bureau, heavy traffic was seen on the southbound lanes of several major highways as early as 6am yesterday.
Slow traffic flows were reported on the southbound sections between Yangmei (楊梅) in Taoyuan to Hsinchu City, as well as between Nantun (南屯) in Taichung and Changhua, on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway.
Several southern sections of the Formosa Freeway also experienced heavy traffic jams, including the sections between New Taipei City’s Tucheng (土城) and Hsinchu County’s Jhulin (竹林), between Taichung’s Wurih (烏日) and Nantou’s Jhongsing (中興), and between Kaohsiung’s Tianliao (田寮) and Yanchao (燕巢).
Other congested sections included the southern section between Taipei’s Nangang (南港) and Yilan County’s Toucheng (頭城) on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway, as well as the eastern section between Kaohsiung’s Zuoying (左營) and Yanchao on National Highway No. 10.
Most vehicles were traveling at 20kph to 40kph on the congested sections, the bureau said.
Traffic flow reached 10.7 million vehicle kilometers on average between midnight and 5am yesterday, which was three times the usual volume of 3.6 million vehicle kilometers on a normal day, the bureau said, adding that the volume increased to 47.2 million vehicle kilometers as of 11am yesterday.
Total traffic volume across the nation was expected to reach 136 million vehicle kilometers yesterday, the bureau said.
Due to a sharp increase in the number of people using the bureau’s mobile app — the National Freeway Bureau 1968 — for the latest traffic update, the application experienced a temporary overload yesterday morning.
To avoid being stuck in traffic during the holiday, the bureau urged motorists to use the Formosa Freeway for long-distance travel.
Short-distance travelers should avoid highways or opt for public transportation if they can, it said.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS