To clear Taiwan’s dishonor of being a “living hell for pedestrians,” the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has pulled out all the stops to ensure that drivers give right of way to pedestrians at intersections.
Although the legislation was established to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment, it has received unexpected criticism since its implementation. One of the biggest complaints is the “emperor complex” of pedestrians: No matter what they do, whether it be crossing on a red light or deliberately loitering on the crosswalk, drivers always have to give way to them or face a fine of NT$6,000.
“Pedestrians come first” is the iron rule in ensuring pedestrians’ safety.
However, as road traffic safety should be observed by pedestrians and drivers, it is not fair to establish legislation that favors pedestrians.
A while ago, at the intersection of Fuxing N Road and Nanjing E Road, a man was reportedly “lost in reverie” on the crosswalk, preventing vehicles from turning right for up to 15 seconds, and people lambasted him for intentionally making a nuisance of himself.
Before traffic safety and mobility is improved at intersections, a better solution might be to make a clear distinction between pedestrian signals and right or left signals, so that pedestrians and drivers have guidance, as well as a benchmark for traffic contraventions.
Otherwise, as long as there is a pedestrian on the crosswalk, all vehicles need to stop at a distance of at least 3m. Even when pedestrians cross on a red light, drivers still need to yield to them. This kind of overcorrection has caused people to question the purpose of traffic signals under such circumstances.
Feasibility, validity and impartiality are central to any legislation. Just as the idiom “If a prince violates the law, he must be punished like an ordinary person” underscores impartiality, it is unjust to mete out strict penalties to drivers who do not yield, and give pedestrians crossing on a red light a mere slap on the wrist.
Accidents happen for many reasons, whether it be heavy traffic, badly designed intersections or vehicles breaking down, but the key still lies with drivers. Neglect, carelessness and speeding are all common reasons for accidents.
As a result, having drivers follow traffic rules and develop safe driving habits in a bid to ensure everyone’s safety is the most important priority. Meting out heavy penalties treats the symptoms not the problem and causes unnecessary public anger.
The ministry has of late been relying on enforcing the speed limit enforcement and traffic cameras to force drivers to adhere to the traffic safety rules, yet statistics show that there has been no reduction in the number of traffic casualties and accidents.
If the government wants people to follow traffic rules, it must first ensure that there is appropriate road planning, adequate parking spaces and a reasonable speed limit.
However, by setting up speed cameras and traffic enforcement cameras, and conducting average speed enforcement the government is treating citizens like criminals. It is little wonder that citizens do not voluntarily observe traffic laws.
In the Wanli period during China’s Ming Dynasty, academic and official Lu Kun (呂坤) gave profound insight into the stringent laws made by the court.
He said, to establish an unchanging law due to an occasional event, and to make the entire people suffer to punish one person’s mistake is the root of the problem with a malignant law.
Given the government’s overreliance on traffic enforcement cameras and the forced implementation of a problematic law, perhaps this insight hits closer to home than ever.
Shiao Fu-song is a lecturer at National Taitung University.
Translated by Rita Wang
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