Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said he would step up efforts to clamp down on drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians after a retired diplomat was hit by a taxi on the street last week and broke his arm.
“Taipei is a friendly city and we should show respect to pedestrians. We must address the issue and enforce measures to ensure that cars yield to pedestrians,” Hau said after presiding over a municipal meeting at Taipei City Hall.
Former ambassador to Guatemala Lu Yi-cheng (陸以正) was hit by a taxi on Friday last week when crossing in a pedestrian zone. He lambasted the taxi driver for ignoring the rights of pedestrians and urged the government to take the matter seriously.
Hau said the Taipei City Police Department’s Traffic Division and the city’s Department of Transportation would strengthen measures to improve the safety of pedestrians and clamp down on drivers who fail to yield to them.
According to regulations, drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians can be fined between NT$1,200 and NT$3,600.
The city government increased the number of traffic police to promote road safety ahead of the Deaflympics in September last year, but the efforts did not continue after the event concluded.
Director of the city’s traffic division Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧) said pedestrians have right of way and motorists would be fined for failing to yield — even when pedestrians violate traffic rules. The division will dispatch more police at major intersections to give tickets to drivers who violate the regulations.
Fang urged drivers to yield to pedestrians, while calling on pedestrians to stop at red lights.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the