Scorpios and Capricorns topped the capital’s list of red-light running motorcyclists from January to July, according to statistics from the Taipei City Motor Vehicles Office.
The statistics showed that 13,923 scooter riders ran red lights during that time. Cross-referencing the scofflaws’ date of birth, the office found that 1,282 of the offenders were Scorpios, or 9.2 percent, while 1,238 Capricorns came in second with 8.89 percent of the total.
Tauruses were comparatively more law-abiding, with 1,018 offenders, or 7.31 percent, the statistics showed.
However, the differences were not large enough to base inferences on any correlation between astrological signs and traffic violations, a Taipei City Motor Vehicles Office official said on condition of anonymity.
However, one inference could be drawn: Gender is a significant factor in traffic-light-related infractions, the official said.
Male riders accounted for 78 percent of all scooter riders who ran traffic lights, or 10,902 riders.
When sorted by age, 4,074 red-light dodgers, or 29 percent, were between the ages of 21 and 30, representing the largest age group. The second-largest group were aged between 31 and 40 (25 percent), with 3,433 riders.
“Those two age groups accounted for more than half of all traffic light violations involving scooters,” the official said, “and they are also society’s most important age groups in terms of economic productivity.”
The official said that between Jan. 1 and Aug. 3, scooters were involved in 623 out of 921 traffic collisions that resulted in fatalities or serious injury, or 68 percent of the total. The most common cause for these accidents was operator error.
“Scooter riders should not violate traffic rules or think their luck might hold forever. This kind of behavior is dangerous to the riders and to others, and inflicts tragedies on many families,” office director Chen Tsung-chien (陳聰乾) said.
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