A news report from Japan’s Mainichi Broadcasting System Inc which is widely circulating among Taiwanese on the Internet, comprises a scene in Japan where a driver who has stopped is saluted by elementary school students who have crossed a zebra crossing.
These student’s elementary school is located in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture. The school principal said that the school does not specifically teach students such traffic etiquette. Rather, the students consciously believe that this is what should be done; so, they have formed a habit that has gradually spread.
That pedestrian crossing used to be a danger spot, and two years ago only 2 percent of vehicles would stop to make way for students to pass first.
However, since students began saluting stopped drivers to thank them, the stopping rate at the crosswalk has greatly increased.
The online news report also says that the Japanese mostly learn good traffic etiquette since childhood, adding that this is worth learning. The report illustrates a “cycle of goodness” through education and acquisition. In past few years, the act of raising one’s hand to gesture a driver to stop for you has been actively promoted by Japanese schools and police. As students take the initiative to combine the act with a salute of appreciation, they have turned the dangerous crosswalk into a good example of traffic etiquette. This is a result of close collaboration between education, society and personal awareness.
Looking back at the traffic problems in Taiwan, to reverse its name of a “pedestrian hell,” the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has introduced a “pedestrians first” clause that only fines pedestrians up to NT$500 (US$16) for crossing when there is a red light, but it fines drivers up to NT$6,000 for failing to stop for pedestrians. Since the clause came into effect, crosswalk chaos can be seen frequently, and people do not know whether to laugh or cry.
For example, people deliberately standing on a zebra crossing to daydream or eat is absurd. Since they are violating the traffic rules, do drivers still need to stop to give way to them?
For such unreasonable cases, the MOTC has continued to adopt the principle of “pedestrians first” while imposing heavy penalties on drivers for deterrence purposes. Some people have suggested that the “pedestrians first” clause is a poor solution. They hope that the government can amend the law to prescribe the right medicine for the illness. With complementary traffic policies and rules for pedestrians, it would then be able to build a safe and fair traffic environment.
Apart from fair laws and policies, the solution for Taiwan’s traffic chaos also lies in road planning, educational promotion and even improving the public’s road etiquette. While promoting the concept that drivers should respect the principle of “pedestrians first,” although pedestrians are not required to learn from the Japanese by saluting drivers for stopping when crossing the road, they can at least show courtesy to the traffic by crossing the road quickly.
If drivers and pedestrians can show respect to each other on the road, their good behavior can not only clear Taiwan’s name as a “pedestrian hell,” but also boost its national image. Is this idea just a dream?
Jane Ywe-hwan is an associate professor in National Pingtung University’s Department of Applied Japanese.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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