Changes to driver’s license regulations aim to reduce the number of unqualified drivers on the roads, the Highway Bureau said yesterday.
The 17 changes targeted three facets of licensing regulations, including making exams harder by removing yes-or-no questions and replacing them with multiple-choice questions, the bureau said.
The number of questions that test would-be drivers on their situational awareness in the tests for car and scooter licenses would be increased, it added.
Photo: Wu Chia-sheng, Taipei Times
The new tests would have portions that assess knowledge of situations in which drivers must yield to pedestrians and use of rearview mirrors to mitigate blind spots, it said.
A point-and-call assessment would be implemented in tests for large vehicle licenses, it said.
The point-and-call system requires drivers to look both ways, indicating their view with their hands, and state that no vehicles are approaching from either direction before making a turn, it said.
Simulated driving would be added to driver education courses, while scooter riding education would require on-the-road training and tests, the bureau added.
On the road, drivers who run red lights, fail to yield at crossings without signage or fail to reduce speed at pedestrian crossings, hospitals and schools three times a year, or twice for large vehicles, would be required to attend traffic safety courses, it said.
People who drive without a license before they are old enough to sit the test, and people who contravene the law against driving under the influence of alcohol or other regulations multiple times would be required to attend special courses, with the duration of the courses lengthened, it said.
Drivers who have had their license rescinded and banned from taking a new license test for three years must attend driving education courses before being allowed to retake the test, it said.
People aged 70 or older must undergo a physical examination by a medical professional to gauge their ability to be behind the wheel, the bureau said.
After passing a physical, elderly people would receive a license valid until they are 75, after which they must renew it every three years, it said.
Elderly drivers who cause a crash resulting in injury or death are required to pay for and attend a driver education course before they can obtain a new license, it said.
People aged 70 or older who do not renew their license would receive subsidies for the TPASS public transport program, which would be extended to cover taxi fares, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
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