A total of 86,268 traffic accidents that resulted in injuries or death were recorded in the first six months of the year, a 5.3 percent increase from the same period last year, a report released yesterday by the Ministry of the Interior showed.
The figures translated into a year-on-year increase in the accident rate from 39.4 to 40.9 cases per 10,000 vehicles, the ministry said.
The ministry said that the increase reflected a 5.5 percent rise in the number of accidents that involved the injury of passengers or motorists with deaths occurring more than 24 hours after the accident.
However, the number of road users who died within 24 hours of an accident declined by 10 percent, the ministry said.
In that category, 19.7 percent of the fatalities were caused by drunk-driving, 17.7 percent as result of drivers not paying attention and 12.5 percent because of drivers’ failure to yield right of way as stipulated in traffic regulations, the report said.
The report said that two-wheeled vehicles were the most dangerous types of transport, because 43.6 percent of road fatalities involved riders of bicycles, motorcycles or scooters.
The road fatality rate involving cars was 27.3 percent and trucks 17.6 percent, the report showed.
The statistics showed that most fatal accidents — 11.36 percent — occurred between 6pm and 8pm, while 9.61 percent occurred between 6am and 8am, and 9.09 percent between 12pm and 2pm.
In terms of the areas where most fatal traffic accidents occured, Pingtung County was at the top of the list with 78 deaths in 77 accidents, followed by Tainan County with 76 deaths in 75 accidents and Taichung County with 72 deaths in 70 accidents, the report said.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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