The government is not considering loosening traffic regulations for the Hsuehshan Tunnel at this point, Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi (
"The Hsuehshan Tunnel is the longest tunnel in Taiwan," Kuo said. "Due to safety concerns, the regulations on the speed limit and safe following distance will remain unchanged."
She said traffic conditions will improve once motorists become accustomed to driving according to the regulations.
Kuo's remarks were made at a legislative hearing hosted by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Hung-chih (
Lin said that heavy traffic in the tunnel has been reported every weekend since its launch. The tunnel, he said, turned into one gigantic parking lot on those days.
As many motorists have complained that the regulations on the speed limit and the safe following distance are too strict, he said the government should seriously consider whether the restrictions are still reasonable.
Currently, motorists are required to maintain a speed of 70kph when driving through the tunnel. They also must remain at least 50m behind the car in front under the normal traffic flow and 20m when there is heavy traffic.
Wang Jin-yuan (
The distance between cautious drivers and those in front of them would then be longer than 50m, which naturally leads to traffic congestion, Wang said.
Wu Mu-fu (
Conditions would not necessarily improve even if the speed limit were raised a bit, he said.
"The tunnel was not specifically designed to handle weekend traffic," he said, adding that many activities are held on weekends in Ilan County in the summer.
Wu said the bureau would encourage motorists to take the Coastal Highway or the Taipei-Ilan Highway, and that it was considering setting up traffic lights at some interchanges along the Chiang Wei-Shui Freeway in Ilan County to regulate traffic.
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