Members of commercial drivers’ groups on Monday protested against a proposal to increase fines for motorists who fail to yield to pedestrians at designated crossings.
The protesters also called for an increase in fines for pedestrians who engage in dangerous behavior, such as crossing intersections on a red light.
National Automobile Driver’s Rights Alliance president Liu Hong-chang (劉鴻樟) said that fines for dangerous pedestrian behavior should be the same as those for motorists who engage in illegal behavior. He also suggested that police be deployed at intersections to enforce rules, and that traffic signals should be redesigned to better separate vehicle and pedestrian flow to improve overall safety.
While Liu is correct that pedestrians should be better deterred from engaging in dangerous behavior, arguably the focus on pedestrian safety is due to pedestrians being more at risk than that of motorists when passing through intersections.
However, while the frequency of traffic accidents in Taiwan is relatively high, the rate of fatal accidents involving pedestrians is lower than that in other developed nations — despite pedestrian safety in Taiwan being a widely publicized topic following an op-ed on the subject by CNN in 2022.
For example, in the US there were 40,000 fatal traffic accidents involving pedestrians last year, representing 0.12 percent of the US population. In contrast, there were 366 fatal accidents involving pedestrians in Taiwan last year, representing only 0.0016 percent of the population.
Perhaps the reason for the disparity is that pedestrians in Taiwan have learned to act defensively, often waiting for there to be no cars before attempting to cross the road at intersections without traffic lights — despite the law saying that pedestrians have the right of way.
Nevertheless, most of the fatal traffic accidents in Taiwan are preventable and action should be taken to ensure that pedestrians are not taking a gamble crossing the street. The question is whether that could be achieved through higher fines.
Statistics show that the majority of fatal accidents involving pedestrians occur at intersections and are generally caused by driver negligence, speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving (often due to mobile phone use), unsafe road conditions or poor visibility. Most of those are examples of dangerous driving habits, which high fines, coupled with aggressive enforcement, could potentially deter. However, another major cause of accidents is a general disregard for pedestrian rights. Online discussions on the issue often degrade into criticism of pedestrians, with many drivers saying that pedestrians are being “spoiled.”
Given this situation, the measure most urgently needed is driver education. The US, Canada and European nations offer driver safety courses at high-school level. Taiwan could do so too, and introduce graduated driving, gradually reducing driving restrictions following a series of tests.
Other potential measures include separate lights at intersections for pedestrians and motorists, as suggested by Liu, as well as frequent patrols by traffic police. Better enforcement is especially needed at intersections where motorists frequently cut through a turn diagonally in an attempt to beat oncoming traffic.
This habit is illegal, and is dangerous for both pedestrians and drivers of oncoming vehicles. Such behavior can be mitigated by using concrete barriers on both sides of crosswalks. Pedestrian crossings could also be made safer by installing elevated or underground footways at the most dangerous intersections.
While fines might be effective in deterring some behavior that leads to fatal traffic accidents, the best measures would be improved driver education, better enforcement, and the installation of pedestrian-safety lights, barriers and walkways.
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