Starting next year, drivers older than 70 may be entitled to a monthly NT$1,500 public transportation and taxi subsidy if they relinquish their driver’s license, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced on Tuesday. The measure is part of a broader effort to improve road safety, with eligible participants receiving the subsidy for two years.
The announcement comes amid mounting concern over traffic safety in Taiwan. A 2022 article by CNN quoted the name of a Facebook group devoted to the traffic situation called “Taiwan is a living hell for pedestrians,” while Berlin-based bne IntelliNews last month called it a “deadly mix of drivers and pedestrians,” warning travelers to “think twice before booking a flight.”
Taiwan last year recorded nearly 400,000 traffic incidents — 290,000 of them in the first nine months alone — resulting in more than 2,000 deaths and 386,000 injuries. A significant share of the incidents involved drivers older than 65, prompting calls for stricter regulation. Nearly 60,000 incidents involving elderly drivers were reported last year, leading to close to 80,000 injuries. The issue gained national attention on May 19, when a 78-year-old driver in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽) plowed into pedestrians and scooter riders near a school, killing three people and injuring 12. The driver also died.
However, the new subsidy might do little to improve safety. Those unfit to drive are unlikely to give up their licenses voluntarily. Taiwan’s persistent problems with driving under the influence (DUI) and unlicensed driving suggest that dangerous drivers often ignore the rules. The nation averages about 10,000 DUI cases per year, while unlicensed driving remains alarmingly common. In 2023, 55,492 accidents involved unlicensed drivers, causing 78,885 injuries and 763 deaths. On May 23, a 78-year-old unlicensed driver ran a red light in Taipei, colliding with a bus and three other vehicles, injuring himself and seven others.
As typically happens after a high-profile tragedy, lawmakers pledged to act. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) proposed doubling fines for unlicensed driving from NT$6,000 to NT$24,000 to NT$12,000 to NT$36,000, with repeat offenders facing fines of up to NT$100,000 and vehicle seizure. Yet as history shows, stiffer penalties are unlikely to make a difference. A driver willing to risk a NT$24,000 fine would likely risk a NT$36,000 fine as well. Without consistent enforcement, laws remain hollow. What Taiwan truly needs is stricter, sustained enforcement and stronger driver education.
The Highway Bureau on Oct. 1 announced that it would replace yes-or-no questions with multiple-choice ones on the written driving test. While a small improvement, it falls far short of addressing deeper issues. Taiwan’s driver education system must go beyond rote memorization. Classroom-based traffic education should begin in high school, teaching road awareness and pedestrian safety. Driving instruction should include more real-world practice with professional supervision to reinforce safe habits. Taiwan could also adopt a graduated licensing system similar to those used in Canada, Australia, the US and many European countries. New drivers would face restrictions that are lifted progressively, such as limits on nighttime driving or passenger numbers, encouraging responsible habits before full licensing.
Encouraging elderly drivers who are no longer fit to drive to give up their licenses is a sensible measure, but subsidies alone will not reverse Taiwan’s alarming traffic trends. Unless the government addresses the twin failures of lax enforcement and weak education, the country’s roads will remain perilous. Real safety reform requires a cultural shift: one that values responsibility, not convenience and enforces the law with consistency rather than reaction. Taiwan’s traffic crisis cannot be solved with subsidies — it must be rebuilt from the ground up.
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