To improve pedestrian safety, a set of draft amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act was passed during a Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) review board meeting on Jan. 28.
Pedestrians have absolute right of way when walking on a crosswalk, but accidents still happen from time to time that involve injuries or even deaths caused by vehicles not stopping or giving way to pedestrians. Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung said that the MOTC hopes to make traffic more human-oriented, and cars and motorcycles should give way to pedestrians at intersections. It has long been said that vehicles should “politely“ give way to pedestrians, but in fact vehicles should always stop to let pedestrians go first unless there is a “no pedestrians“ sign.
Lin asked for the reform to start from the three aspects of “people, vehicles and roads” by enforcing the law that demands yielding to pedestrians at intersections, reviewing road design specifications, and planning to increase penalties, so as to increase drivers’ awareness of the need to give way to pedestrians.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報記者廖雪茹
Regarding the increase in fines, the amendment refers to the laws of the US, Japan, France and South Korea. Drivers who do not allow pedestrians to pass first will be fined NT$1,200 to NT$6,000, increased from the current NT$1,200 to NT$3,600. Those who cause injury or death will bear both civil and criminal liability as well as facing a fine of NT$7,200 to NT$36,000.
Having been passed at the MOTC review board meeting, the draft amendments will now be transferred to the Legislative Yuan for review.
(Translated by Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)
為強化行人安全，交通部一月二十八日部務會報通過「道路交通管理處罰條例」修正案。
行人走在行人穿越道上擁有絕對通行權，但車輛因未停讓行人導致的傷亡事故仍時有耳聞。交通部長林佳龍表示，交通部希望落實人本交通，所以在路口汽機車應當禮讓行人；過去都是說「禮讓」，但事實上依法規範的話，如果沒有禁止行人標誌，就應該優先停讓。
林佳龍要求從人、車、路三方項著手，推動路口停讓行人大執法、檢討道路設計規範、規劃加重處罰等方式，來提醒車輛要停讓行人。
在提高罰鍰方面，參考美日法韓法規，未停讓行人先行通過者，罰鍰從現行一千兩百元至三千六百元，提高為一千兩百元至六千元；因而致人受傷或死亡者，除民刑事責任外，還可處七千兩百元至三萬六千元。
「道路交通管理處罰條例」修正草案在交通部務會報上通過後，將報行政院續轉立法院審議。
（自由時報記者鄭瑋奇、陳炳宏）
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