Several new traffic regulations went into effect today, including one rule mandating the installation of ignition interlock devices in the vehicles of people repeatedly found driving drunk.
People who have their driver’s license revoked after three drunk driving convictions must now undergo a three-month program for alcohol addiction — with required attendance of at least seven sessions — and obtain a certificate from the program before being allowed to take a driver’s exam, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
Drunk drivers whose licenses have been suspended and need to retake the driver’s exam will now have to attend a 15-hour, NT$2,800 course on drunk driving, for which they must pay out of their own pockets, it said.
People retaking the driver’s exam whose previous license was revoked due to a drunk driving charge must now have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle for one year and register themselves with their local motor vehicles office, the ministry said.
They must also visit the manufacturer of the device each month for its data to be downloaded, it said.
The device administers a breath alcohol test before allowing the vehicle’s engine to start and a second test five minutes later, the ministry said.
Every 45 to 60 minutes, the driver is prompted and given 15 minutes to pull over and undergo another test, it said.
Failure to comply would result in the engine shutting off and the steering wheel locking, which can only be remedied by towing the vehicle to the device’s manufacturer, it added.
People who meet the criteria for the device and drive a vehicle without one, or tamper with the system so it does not work as intended, would face a fine of NT$6,000 to NT$12,000 under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), the ministry said.
Having another person take the breath alcohol test to start a vehicle would result in a fine of NT$6,000 to NT$12,000 for that person, it added.
Also starting today, child seats on bicycles would be considered legal, the ministry said.
Child seats may only be installed on bicycles and electric bikes, not electric scooters, it said.
If the child seat is installed in the front, children must be aged one to four and weigh less than 15kg to ride, the ministry said.
If installed in the rear, only children aged one to six and weighing less than 22kg may ride in the child seat, it said.
If the rider of a bicycle with a child seat is a minor, or the age or weight of the passenger exceeds the limits, the rider would face a fine of NT$300 to NT$600, it added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique