The Directorate-General of Highways introduced a sticker yesterday that puts the onus on passengers sitting in back seats of taxis to fasten their seat belts or pay a fine.
According to a new law that took effect on Aug. 1, taxi drivers will be fined between NT$1,500 and NT$6,000 if their rear seat passengers are found not wearing seat belts and they were not informed before their ride of the necessity of using a seat belt.
There is a grace period — until Feb. 1 next year — before violators are penalized.
Photo: CNA, Directorate General of Highways
However, if passengers are informed by the driver to buckle up, but they decide not to, then the passengers would face a fine of NT$4,500, the agency said.
The new stickers, which read “Buckle Up or Pay Up,” were designed primarily to put the responsibility of wearing a seat belt when riding in taxis in the hands of the passenger.
The agency is recommending that taxi drivers adhere the stickers to the paneling facing the front passenger’s seat, as well as on the back of the front-seat headrests so they can be easily spotted.
By placing the stickers in those places, the drivers would meet their responsibility to inform the passengers of the law, the agency said.
The issue of wearing seat belts in the backseat gained national attention when Nora Sun (孫穗芬), a granddaughter of Republic of China founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), was killed in a freeway car accident in January. She was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
Former Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Chen Chao-lung (陳朝龍) first proposed the amendment to the Act Governing Punishments for Violations of Road Traffic Regulations (道路交通管理處罰條例) in 2006 after Shaw Hsiao-ling (邵曉鈴), the wife of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) was severly injured in a crash on a freeway near Tainan.
Shaw, who had not been wearing a seat belt, was thrown from a minivan, and lost her spleen and part of her left arm as a result of the accident.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data