The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is planning to increase penalties for unlicensed driving in line with those for drunk driving, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) wrote on Facebook yesterday.
Draft amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) would be focused on increasing penalties for people driving without a driver’s license, the ministry said.
The act currently stipulates that motorists and motorcyclists driving without a license could be fined up to NT$24,000 (US$799), it said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
People who contravene the act for a second time within five years would be given the maximum fine and banned from driving, the ministry said.
Unlicensed drivers who cause serious injury or death to others while driving would be prohibited from obtaining a driver’s license in four years, it said.
Allowing others to drive their vehicles without a license would also be punishable, and violators would have their license suspended for six months if it occurs three times within five years, it said.
The ministry is planning to bring penalties for unlicensed driving in line with that of drunk driving by raising the fines, as well as adopting a cumulative fine approach without limit, it said, adding that the bill would stipulate that vehicles used for unlicensed driving “should be confiscated right away and have their motor vehicle license suspended.”
The bill would also specify that vehicle owners who allow people without a driver’s license to operate their cars should be fined the same as unlicensed drivers and have their license suspended for up to 12 months, the ministry said.
It would also include the provision that unlicensed drivers may not obtain a driver’s license for four years if they injure others while driving, and may not obtain the license for life if they caused serious injury or death to others, it said.
The draft bill would be sent to the Executive Yuan for review by the end of next month.
Chen also said that the ministry would propose three other measures.
“The ministry will not prohibit elderly people from driving a car, but will take protective measures to ensure that they can drive more safely,” he said.
The remarks came amid a protest in Taipei yesterday, urging the government to implement comprehensive reforms to the driver’s license renewal system and to prioritize improvements to sidewalk design.
The rally was organized in response to a deadly car crash in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽) on Monday last week when a 78-year-old driver, surnamed Yu (余), ran a red light at high speed before hitting pedestrians and scooter riders near an elementary school, leaving three people dead and 12 injured.
Bracing the rain, the protesters carried banners that read: “protect future generations,” “return road for people use, reach home safely,” and “remove unqualified drivers.”
When they reached the ministry, transportation ministry official Hu Ti-chi (胡迪琦) received their petition on behalf of the ministry.
The petition listed demands including the implementation of a new training program for drivers renewing their license, a new system to categorize different driver groups, and requiring license renewal at regular intervals.
The petition also requested reforms on license renewal for elderly drivers to consider their physical and mental health conditions. It also demanded “improved designs” for roads, sidewalks, and all traffic and transportation related construction projects, including around schools, as well as the construction of “pedestrian-friendly zones” and traffic barriers, and to mandate speed control systems and acceleration suppression devices in vehicles,
“We suggest that all drivers should undergo training during
license renewal, and not just older people or specific groups of drivers,” Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance executive Lin Po-hsun (林柏勛) said.
Taiwan Safety Drivers Watch chairwoman Lin Mei-na (林美娜) said that compulsory liability insurance for vehicles has seen no adjustment in more than 30 years, adding that the highest payout for disability or loss of life is still capped at NT$2 million, but should be raised to NT$5 million.
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