People caught driving without drivers’ licenses may take a driving test if they manage to pay part of the penalty, the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) said yesterday.
DGH Director-General Mile Chen (陳茂南) said that the amendment to the punishment standards for violating road traffic regulations will enable violators to pay the penalty in installments.
“If they can pay the first payment, they can take the test for a drivers’ license,” he said.
Chen said the DGH decided to amend the standards because of a series of incidents in Hsinchu last year.
“We offered courses to residents in Wufong Township (五峰) so they could obtain scooter licenses,” Chen said.
“We found that some of them got tickets for driving without licenses. Because of their financial predicament, they could not afford to pay the tickets. Nor could they take the tests because of these unpaid penalties,” he said.
Chen said there are 350,000 motorists who have neither paid the penalties nor applied to retake the drivers’ licenses.
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