The new drivers’ test has proven to be effective in reducing traffic violations by newly licenced drivers, the Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said.
The highway authority implemented the new test in May, with a written section, and driving tests on a course and in traffic.
The test previously only required applicants to pass a written test and a test on a practice course. It did not have a test amid traffic and in real road conditions.
The DGH surveyed people who obtained licenses in June and found that 3.4 traffic violations were committed for every 100 drivers in July and last month, down from 4.28 in the same period last year.
During the road test, prospective drivers must check the vehicle before setting out, follow a two-step procedure when opening the door, use turn signals at intersections or when changing lanes, turn their heads to check potential blind spots and follow traffic signs and markings, the test regulations show.
Applicants failing to perform any one of the required actions would not pass the road test.
A netizen named Chris Cheng said the statistics did not change the fact that Taiwan still has many traffic accidents.
In related news, the DGH said that 2,017 people have renewed their licenses since the government implemented new rules for elderly drivers in July.
The new rules apply to drivers who turned 75 on or after July 1.
To renew their licenses, they must pass a physical test and a cognitive test. The latter is administered by the DGH.
The highway authority said that it has notified 12,180 licensed people who met the criteria, adding that only 14 failed the renewal test.
Sixty-five elderly drivers volunteered to renounce their licenses by returning them to the DGH, the agency said.
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