The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) that would allow members of the public to report five types of traffic offenses.
The amendments were drafted by the Cabinet in response to mounting criticism over a new demerit system introduced by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in June last year, which allows members of the public to report 13 types of traffic offenses.
Under the system, drivers are given one demerit for each offense committed, and risk having their driver’s license suspended if they accumulate 12 points over a 12-month period.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
While the new system was warmly received by pedestrians, it upset many professional drivers, who said their fines and demerits surged within just a few months of the system’s implementation.
To appease drivers, the ministry proposed changes, including limiting the types of offenses that the public can report and setting stricter conditions under which a driver would be given a demerit.
That triggered a protest from advocates of pedestrians’ rights, who said the changes would encourage unruly drivers to break traffic rules.
The legislative committee yesterday agreed that the public could only report five types of traffic offenses: not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle, parking in spaces designated for disabled drivers, parking against the flow of traffic, parking on sidewalks and parking on pedestrian crossings.
The lawmakers also agreed that motorists would only receive a demerit if they are stopped by law enforcement personnel who can verify their identity. They would not receive a demerit if the alleged offense is reported by a member of the public or captured by a speed camera.
The amendments also stipulate that drivers who take defensive driving courses two times each year can have four demerit points expunged. At present, drivers can only have two points deducted for taking the course once a year.
The amendments could take effect in June if they pass a second and third reading at the legislature.
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: The project would only be the beginning, as Taiwan needs at least 120 satellites to ensure uninterrupted communication, Wu Tsung-tsong said The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) yesterday said it plans to launch six low Earth orbit satellites starting in 2026 as part of the government’s plan to boost the resilience of the nation’s communications. The development of the technology gained attention after Ukrainians were able to access the Internet through Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, despite their infrastructure being severely damaged in the war with Russia. Two of the satellites would be built by the government, while four would involve cooperation between TASA and private contractors. “Over the past 30 years, the satellite technology in Taiwan has