An amendment to the Act Governing Punishments for Violations of Road Traffic Regulations (道路交通管理處罰條例) might give pause to people who feel the need to smoke when driving or riding a scooter, with fines of NT$600 proposed for actions that could affect driving safety.
National Police Agency traffic control division official Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧) said ash from cigarettes posed a threat to the safety of others no matter whether a lit cigarette is just being held or being smoked.
If the legislature approves the amendment, which cleared the legislature’s Transportation Committee on Wednesday, police would be empowered to hand out tickets to drivers found smoking, Fang said.
Police would also impose fines based on photographic evidence provided by members of the public, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), who proposed the amendment, said that not only does smoking while stopped at a red light cause air pollution, the ash and smoke can be dangerous to other motorists.
More than 84 percent of the public are opposed to others smoking while driving or riding a scooter, according to a census commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency, Ting said.
Citing figures from a study by the John Tung Foundation, there are roughly 3.8 million male smokers in Taiwan, with one in four admitting to littering to dispose of cigarette butts, Ting said.
On average, cigarette butts take 15 years to decompose, Ting said, adding that they are a major source of environmental pollution.
While the Ministry of Transportation and Communications was initially opposed to the amendment, saying that there were already regulations in place, Ting insisted there are often cases of passers-by being injured due to the lighting, smoking or discarding of cigarettes by drivers.
Meanwhile, independent Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生) said that incense burned at temples and fumes from cooking harms people’s health more than cigarette smoke.
The legislature should gradually acclimatise smokers to the law rather than springing it on them suddenly, Chen said.
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