Stiffer traffic fines will be enforced starting today when new amendments to traffic laws go into effect.
Among the 55 amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Punishment Law (道路交通管理處罰條例), which passed its third reading at the legislature in January, is one to impose more severe fines on motorists driving under the influence of alcohol.
Offenders face fines of between NT$15,000 and NT$60,000, depending on the size of the vehicle driven and the degree of the driver's blood-alcohol content. The legal limit is set at 0.25mg/l.
The minimum fine will increase from NT$15,000 to NT$19,500 when the figure reaches 0.4mg/l and to NT$49,500 when it reaches 0.55mg/l.
Those who refuse to have their breath-alcohol content tested face an additional fine of NT$60,000 and will have their driver's license revoked.
Under another amendment, parents or guardians who leave children under the age of six, or children that require special care, alone in the car will face a NT$1,000 fine and a compulsory four-hour lecture course on road safety.
Finally, fines for street-racing on motorbikes will have a new maximum set at NT$24,000 per individual and between NT$30,000 and NT$90,000 for each individual in a joyriding group.
For offenders under the age of 18, parents or legal guardians will be subject to having their names revealed to the media and maybe compelled to attend lecture courses on road safety.
In a tightening of seat belt regulations, starting Sept. 1, automobile drivers will face a fine of NT$1,500 when a front-seat passenger fails to fasten their seat belt.
Talking on a cellphone while driving rates a NT$3,000 fine.
While inspecting the 200-strong municipal law enforcement officers yesterday near City Hall, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"Our goal is not to put more money into city coffers but to truly improve the city's traffic situation," he said.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
RSS