The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is amending regulations and requesting that all cities and counties install countdown timers for red lights only.
Countdown timers at red lights inform motorists about the time left before the traffic light turns green, whereas countdown timers at green lights tell motorists how much time there is left before the light turns red.
At present, counties can choose which system to use and can also opt not to install the devices. In some counties, however, timers for both red lights and green lights are installed.
Chang Shun-ching (張舜清), a section chief at the Department of Railways and Highways, said the Institute of Transportation has analyzed 187 road sections nationwide where the devices are installed.
Results showed that the timers at red lights had helped reduce the number of traffic accidents by 50 percent.
They also reduced deaths and injuries by 100 percent and 52 percent respectively.
Conversely, the number of accidents where countdown timers were used at green lights increased twofold. While the number of fatalities did not rise, the number of injuries was up by more than 30 percent.
When both types of timers are installed, the number of accidents rose 19 percent and injuries 23 percent respectively.
Chang said the policy would likely to take effect in June. The amendment does not need the approval of the legislature.
Chang said trial runs of the two systems were being held in some counties.
Once the amendment is complete, counties will have to follow the regulations, he said.
"If they choose to install timers for green lights, they will be doing so at their own risk," he said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS